(Untitled)

[weaktobullets]

Who: mentis_reae and weaktobullets
When: RIGHT NOW. or Daytime during the 23rd, whatever.
Where: Edgeworth's office.
Summary: Talking death-- because they're just cheery kinda guys.
Warnings: Action-threading, maybe language, depressing conversations, but that's all I forsee.

Comments

[mentis_reae]

[Edgeworth had gotten to the office at some seven o'clock that morning. He'd gone to bed at two the night before. It was, nevertheless, one of the few days when he did not feel impossibly exhausted. It had been over a month since he'd felt in good health, and far more than that since he last felt energetic - but today, at least, he was not in misery.

So he had tea before him, a decent amount of work done and more to do. And, frankly, he was in an fair mood. Things were dark, yes. Things were impossibly dark, with Wright in terrible danger every day, with misery and death lurking around every corner. Indeed, life here was altogether miserable. But at least today was not as bad as it might have been.

Pathetic, that that was the best he could do.

He looked up when there was a knock on the door. There was always a slight lurch of unease whenever he heard such a sound, but it was the middle of the day, and there was help if he needed it. So he closed the file, looked up, and said:]

Come in.

[weaktobullets]

[For brief moment, Shinjiro considered ignoring the invitation and instead going home. His brows creased, but he shook the thought off, stepping into the room, tilting his head to glance about the door.]

...Hey.

[A short nod of acknowledgment as Shinjiro closed the door behind him self, seemingly heedless of just how strange his visitation of the office was. It wasn't as though he had any pressing legal matters, for one, and he rarely displayed any kind of initiative. He stopped a short distance from the desk, not fully approaching, but not taking a seat either.]

You busy? [A brow raised at the question-- he was sure the answer was something along the lines of "Yes, Dear God, have you seen the state this city is in", but whether or not it was immediately pressing was another matter entirely.]

[mentis_reae]

[The last time he'd seen Aragaki in person, the circumstances had been...unpleasant. The time before that, they'd been unpleasant as well. So he tightened his lips slightly, wondering if there was something ominous about this visit -

No, he decided at once. That wasn't the sort of person Aragaki was.

He gestured to a chair instead of answering.]

Please, sit.

[He watched Aragaki curiously, his lips slightly turned down. He did not think that Aragaki would come to him unless something was wrong, so his face was concerned.]

[weaktobullets]

[A nod and he moved to sit, posture still slouched and terrible, shifting to cross his legs comfortably. While Edgeworth appeared concerned, the conversation wasn't as strained or short, as he had been anticipating-- probably because he hadn't said anything as of yet, but it was still encouraging, especially when he had nothing really pressing.

A hand returned to his pocket to again fidget with his watch, if only to give him something to do as he spoke. Better to just get to the point.]

I was thinking 'bout the time you died. [It was spoken casually and unassumingly, maintaining eye contact for a beat, before glancing elsewhere on the desk as he continued.] Or were injured, whatever happened. You ever find out more about that?

[mentis_reae]

[Edgeworth's mouth becomes a thin line when he hears the word died. It relaxes only very slightly when Aragaki allows for that amendment. His fingers twist, either angrily or anxiously, at the cap on his pen; his voice is taut.]

My investigations to date have turned up nothing.

[weaktobullets]

[At least he had anticipated some sort of negative reaction to that. He let out an acknowledging noise, thinking for a moment. Then again, something about that was bothering him.]

The hell do you mean investigation? [He was genuinely curious about that, despite the dismissive wording. Just the by-product of his crass language.] What's there to look into besides what people're saying?

[mentis_reae]

[He lifts his chin warily and twists that pen all the more warily between his fingers.]

Looking into what people are saying is an investigation.

[weaktobullets]

[Another short, noncommittal grunt at Edgeworth's comment.]

...Is it really so bad if you were? Ain't like it changes much except how you look at it.

[mentis_reae]

If I were what? Dead?

[weaktobullets]

The one time, yeah. [Another short shrug.]

You obviously ain't right now. Keep it that way, and you shouldn't have a problem.

[mentis_reae]

[A glare, and he snaps the cap off that pen and jams it angrily onto the end of it. He lowers it to a piece of paper, as though to write; however, he doesn't write anything. He just stays there a moment, then mutters to the page:]

It's possible that I am.

[weaktobullets]

[He watches the angry reaction, though doesn't change his rather controlled expression-- at least that was something he'd always been good with.]

Am what, dead? [For a moment, his lips moved faintly in amusement.] Doubt that, seeing as you're up and moving. If you're dead, it ain't here right now.

[mentis_reae]

No. Indeed. It's not here.

[His face betrays nothing.]

[weaktobullets]

[He leans back in the chair, arms folding over his chest. if it wasn't here- it was what, back home? Putting him in the same situation as Shinjiro and Minako.]

...Everyone from my home who ain't still here was alive back home. [Hell, maybe it was related.] For all I know, it's only the dead ones who're stuck here.

[mentis_reae]

[He pauses, then shakes his head.]

No, ah...That's not precisely what I'm talking about.

[weaktobullets]

[An annoyed frown.]

Then be more specific. We ain't all fancy lawyers.