Day 49: Early Afternoon - ????
The increase in the rain didn't bother Momo. Oh, she'd pay later when they were herded back into the buses for having spent so much time wandering around in it, but it didn't matter. The shinigami's mind was focused in the past as she walked away from the town proper. It was strange, a lone woman from the institute leaving the more supervised
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That was the plan, but then she saw Momo, darting through the streets with a destination in mind. One away from the others. Partly curious because of the fact that she knew Momo knew quite a bit, and partly because such behavior looked suspicious in the first place, the detective decided to quietly follow the other woman.
It was actually quite easy to do so, since Momo seemed unusually distracted. Or focused? Erika wasn't sure which, but she remained silent as she followed Momo through the streets, and to what she considered to be a most interesting sight. They were away from all the shops, and all of the people. Was Momo attempting to escape?
Rather than follow her lead, Erika stayed back awhile, still silent as she watched the building before Momo and the woman herself with an interested smile.
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Moving around the side of the building, the shinigami looked to see if there was a fire escape, or anything that might help her get to higher ground.
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It was still not an appropriate time to reveal herself, so Erika waited and watched. In time, she would understand Momo's intentions and depending on what it was, she would reveal herself accordingly. Her little gray cells were tingling - was this a crime in progress, or just a strange little excursion?
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Returning to the door, Momo grasped the knob and then paused. She cocked her head and listened over the sound of the rain. What was she listening for an observer might wonder? Had the one tailing her been discovered? Was there something on interest that she was hearing? In reality, Momo was listening for the approach of any of the staff or anyone that might be around. She may have little respect for human laws, but even she knew she was technically breaking and entering. Unless the door happened to be unlocked...
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The detective had no trouble determining that whatever was important to Momo would be important to her. Momo was a valued source of information and Erika knew that whatever the other woman was interested in, it would be yet another thing of value. That was why she did her best not to interrupt, staying still and silent as Momo paused right before opening the door, though if Momo's hearing was as perfect as hers, she might have been able to hear the pitter patter of Erika's sneakers in the rain.
It was alright, though. Erika was not malicious and only curious. This sort of behavior seemed much more excusable, in her opinion; it wasn't like Erika had any intent to alert the nurses or staff either. On the contrary, she was looking out for any interference herself as well as observing Momo.
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Being out of the rain was nice, and she took a moment to brush the wet strands of hair out of her face. Now she had to check for roof access. Quietly, she looked around as she moved further within.
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It would be harder to hide her steps, but Erika didn't want to lose sight of her quarry just yet, so the detective took the risk of being heard as she stepped carefully around, trying to avoid any particularly creaky spots.
Just what sort of mysteries were present here? So interesting!
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At the moment, the man was seated on the floor, back pressed against the wall toward the back of the entry room. He lifted his head as he watched two people step inside -- there certainly were a lot of curious patients among the bunch, not that he was too surprised.
Completely shattering any hopes of surreptitiousness, the man spoke up from his spot, though he didn't attempt to stand just yet. "I've gotta ask," he started, slightly amused, "what do you guys hope to find when you walk into a place like this?"
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She was about to ask the detective why she was following her when the voice spoke up. After giving Erika a slight look of annoyance, the shinigami looked back at the voice and the one it belonged to. She wasn't sure who he was, and looked him over curiously.
"I was expecting this place to be empty," she replied, moving a little further inside, but not close enough to him that she believed she'd be seen as a threat. "Do you know if there is roof access in here?"
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Perfect. She focused on the man who was waiting for them. Waiting seemed to be the correct term, as he was seated in the building. This whole time? Was he a patient hiding from the nurses? She doubted it, as the nurses were quite adamant in ferrying people into buildings earlier. Surely, the disappearance of herself and Momo would soon cause an uproar. If this man had disappeared earlier, Erika would have already heard about efforts to find him. Therefore, she could conclude that he wasn't one of them.
There was one other thing. Jill's message from last night rang clear in her head. Of course, there was no way to tell if this was the man in question or not since he didn't look injured in the slightest, which was what the woman seemed to be implying. He did fit the bill otherwise, being a male outside of Landel's walls. Was this the mysterious man that Erika had sought out last night?
"It seems like an audience with you isn't what she's looking for," Erika commented lightly to Momo's request for roof access. She would let the other go. This man was much more interesting to Erika now. "As for myself, I'm conducting an investigation, and it seems I've come to the right place."
Naturally, Erika was hoping (expecting, really) that this man would be able to supply her with vital clues. She waited patiently before him, the blank expression on her face earlier now replaced with a triumphant smile.
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"Roof access?" He shrugged. "Beats me. I'm not really in the position to go searching around too much right now, to be honest." His ankle didn't bother him when he wasn't standing on it, which was why he was doing his best to stay stationary -- even if he was getting a bit antsy.
"Feel free to look around, though," he said with a gesture to the doors that led out of the room that they were in. With the first patient taken care of, he focused on the second girl, a smile pulling up the corner of his mouth. "So... what are you investigating?" He had to admit, it was nice to see such enthusiasm in patients who'd probably had their wills crushed into the ground by Landel more than a few times already.
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Moving past the man, Momo peered into the nearest room, still looking for the roof access. She stayed within range to maintain the conversation, but she had her own agenda as well. For the moment. She'd seen a bit too much in her long weeks of the institute to suddenly jump on the bandwagon that this man, if he was the one referred to, would be of any help.
"You look surprisingly well for someone who was described as being severely wounded."
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"Yes, it is as she says. You are the one that Jill was talking about, correct?" While it was true that the man looked just a bit too healthy, Erika knew that it was easy to think that Jill had been lying, trying to inject some urgency in the situation so that people would seek him out faster. For what purpose? Still, the request was made backwards. They were to help him, not the other way around, was it?
"You do look a little too healthy. But that works out fine for me. Why are you waiting here?" Erika had already gone into "investigation" mode, ignoring any other comments Momo made in favor of whatever this man was going to say. How easily was he going to give up information. Would there be a price? It annoyed Erika slightly, to question this man without the detective's authority, but she could accept it. One way or another, she would find her answers.
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"That's me," he said with a smile in response to the second patient, the one who was more interested in him. He knew that the polite thing would have been to stand, but he still couldn't work up the energy to do so. Yeah, he was a lot healthier than he'd been, but that didn't mean he was picture perfect.
"Some other patients found me last night, in the woods, and managed to heal me up a bit," he explained for the second or third time. The story wasn't too complicated, at least, which meat that repeating it wasn't a huge chore. "I broke away from them and made my way here, figuring that some of you might come across me during the trip." It looked like he'd made a good call, too, since this was the third set of curious patients who had made their way here thus far.
He glanced over to where the first girl was investigating, lifting his head slightly to watch her. "Why do you need to get to the roof?" If they were going to ask him question, then he could return the favor, couldn't he?
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"Last week when we were here, we were caught after dark and the town changed like the institute did." In a way. "I engaged in combat an antagonist on the roof of either thing building or one of the nearby ones. I want to see if the rooftop shows any signs of the fire damage they sustained that night given the signs of supposed vandalism in town." And to settle her mind some, but she wasn't going to tell either the man or Erika about Signum.
"What is your name? I am Vice Captain Hinamori Momo."
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But even Momo's answer provided some useful information, as Erika noted that the signs of "vandalism" were actually remnants of ... ah, so the town changed as well as the Institute? She would have to visit, sometime, to see for herself. And Momo had enough sense to ask for the man's name. Regardless, this was not Erika's style, having to wait her turn to speak (or wait at all, really).
Still, this man didn't truly answer her question, other than hinting that he was here to meet some patients. Erika tapped her chin, looking at him skeptically. If he wanted to meet them, that meant he had something to tell them, be it information, or a request, or something else entirely. It was worth risking his life and still risking his life for, as Erika doubted Doyleton was the safest place for one who was hunted down by Landel's minions last night. There was much she wanted to ask him, but she somehow doubted this man would be willing to share too much.
It would be boring if all the answers came easily though.
"Along with that, might I ask exactly what you were doing last night that landed you in trouble?" Erika added on. "Furudo Erika, by the way."
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