[Yu has a great poker face, but he is taking it pretty well, genuinely -- I mean, the feeling was pretty bizarre, but how much weirder is it than summoning brain demons or a metaphysical murder case involving jumping into the TV? Like, his perspective on weird is pretty broken. All this to say that the biggest reaction he has is to the satisfaction of remembering the guy's name correctly.]
You got it. [A little nod. Then, he tries to follow where Charles's gaze had gone to before...although he's not 100% certain on direction other than up.]
Oh, no, [ he says, and tries to think of a nice way to say, i'm on the lookout for the ghost of a witch who may or may not be a hallucination. yeah, that'd go over real well. ]
Just, thought I saw something there. I'd say I should get my eyesight checked, but —
[ he shrugs and grins like this is somehow a great joke; you know, ghost, can't get bad eyesight when you're dead, ha ha. ]
[Something there? Yu glances upward again, thoughtful, and then shrugs.] Wouldn't be surprised if you did. There's a lot of weird stuff happening lately.
[Weird may be putting it mildly -- he's still trying to process a lot of it. Not just the recent murderous infection that swept the population, but the strange and sudden appearance of his own Shadow. Shadows, plural. To say it's been on his mind a lot would be an understatement; more accurate to say he's been fixated on it.
But, for now, he tilts his head, trying to lean into something lighter.] You mean they don't make glasses for ghosts? What a surprise.
You don't fucking say, [ charles mutters, voice dripping with sarcasm, because — yeah, he's noticed. weird shit all around, and he's not sure he likes any of it.
but no time to dwell on that, is this? he summons a grin and gives yu a half-shrug. ]
Well, actually, think there's a few places in London where you can get some, you know, if something happens to the pair you got. Mostly meant your sight can't really get worse when you're not alive anymore.
[As much as that weird stuff has been on his mind lately, Yu finds a small smile tugging at his expression over Charles's bluntness. For a second, he has a hard time placing where the nostalgic feeling comes from; realizing that Charles reminds him of Kanji comes with the guilty reminder that it's been nearly a year since he got here. A year since he saw the rest of their friends.
Well, that's a bad feeling. Better shove it aside.]
Figures that London would have that kind of service. [Get it, because London probably has a lot of dead people...anyway,] So, what did your ghost eyes see? [I'm. actually kind of sorry for that one--]
im so mad dw never gave me the notif for this?? what gives, dw
[ charles gives an easy grin back — what do you know, london does have a lot of dead people! and anyway, ghost can hop through mirrors, so some come in to do business from other places, too. it's mostly because the city's pretty old, so the magic scene is really thriving.
at the question, he actually laughs, first, before shaking his head. ]
Nothing. Was trying to keep an eye out for another ghost — dunno if she's real, but someone asked me to, so... [ so! he might as well be looking. ]
[Yu makes a small, thoughtful sound, his eyes returning upward to where it seemed like Charles had been looking.]
Do you do that often? Looking for ghosts. [A beat.] Other ghosts, I mean.
[He seemed pretty at ease with it, after all. And how long did he say he'd been a ghost for...a long time, right? Maybe he makes a habit of that -- looking for other ones. The overthinking train continues rumbling along at a manageable pace, for now; he's busying himself by wondering what the haunting situation might have been like in Inaba, and whether they would have found the killer sooner if they'd been able to talk to the victims...
Ah. Anyway.]
right!! if i hadn't opened ur inbox i would have never seen it.... tragedy
Not really, [ he answers with a shrug, which may sound like a strange response — until he continues with, ] They usually come to me. Us, the Agency, I mean.
[ so with a lot of ghosts as clients, and then meeting even more during casework... yeah, he's pretty familiar with others, sure. here it's different — everyone looks the same, and everyone can see him, so determining who might be a ghost and who not is a much harder thing to do. ]
Agency? [He tilts his head a bit -- unfortunately, Yu is a terminally curious person, and Charles has given him a Hint to latch onto.] What kind of agency?
[He can't imagine what sort of service a ghost would need from that kind of organization, but he is utterly fascinated by the prospects.]
[ the smile he aims at yu is both slightly abashed and incredibly earnest — because as weird as it may be, explaining it to people here... it's still something he's really, really proud of. ]
The Dead Boy Detective Agency. Me and Edwin, we solve cases for ghosts. A lot of ghosts got unresolved business, you know, that's why they linger. So we make sure they matter... and help them move on.
A detective, [he repeats slowly, his eyebrows lifted, curious and maybe a little surprised. But-- after the momentary surprise wears off, the expression is replaced by an easy smile, bright, and his hand slides casually into his pocket.]
My uncle is a detective, actually. [Ah. A light pang of homesickness -- he'll get over it.] ... Not for ghosts, though. That's really amazing. I can see how something like that would be really useful.
[... he wonders, somewhat, if an organization like that would have been able to do something for the murder victims in Inaba. Did solving their murder help them move on...? He doesn't say anything along those lines, though, instead latching onto another Hint, unfortunately.]
Edwin. You told me about him before, right? The best friend.
Is he? That's aces, mate. Bet he's doing good things.
[ his smile is easy, too, a tad understanding — he can hear it, the slightest bit of longing for home, and really, who wouldn't have that, here? and if he ducks his head slightly at the compliment, well. he's never been particularly good at taking those.
so when the topic shifts, he actually exhales in abject relief, don't mind him, ]
Yeah, that's him. We sort of started solving cases accidentally, ran into this one lady who wanted help... and then realised we were pretty damn good at it. Founded the agency about a year after meeting each other.
[Yu hums softly at that. It's not that he necessarily doesn't want to talk about home, to talk about himself...but it does make it feel far removed, doesn't it? He's nearly been here for a year -- as long as he'd known anyone in Inaba. The longest he's ever been able to maintain any sort of real personal relationship. There are a lot of feelings wrapped up in that, and he's not sure he's ready to deal with them.
So! Let's not!!
Anyway, he's trying to put together pieces of information that Charles has given him, finally coming up with the following question:] So you've been doing this for a while, then? [Didn't he say he and this other guy had been friends for a long time? Years?
It-- kind of sounds nice. Doing that sort of work all the time.] What sort of cases do you take? Or...are you not allowed to say?
[Something something confidentiality of police information-- he's never been very good about following those rules. Sorry, Uncle.]
[ which is... a lot, yeah, he knows. when dealing with other ghosts, it had never seemed like that, but here — well, it's impossible not to know how different his afterlife is, compared to the mostly human lives of those here. ]
What? No, course I can say. [ with a light laugh, ] But there's loads of different kinds. Anything someone wants us to look into. Sometimes we solve the causes of their deaths, but other times it's that a building near them's haunted, or someone's gone missing, someone they know's behaving weird... all kinds of things.
[Thirty-four. Yu exhales. Even Adachi was only, what, twenty-eight? Thirty? Adding to how old he was when he died, Charles is even older than his uncle. That-- it's weird to think about, huh? On the other hand, Charles's whole thing is so weird already that it's just...par for the course.]
So you've got some experience, is what I'm hearing.
[He plays off the surprise pretty casually, putting levity in his tone and expression. Yeah, it's kind of weird. A lot, maybe. But everything around here is weird, right? And his own story isn't exactly more normal. Besides, he's sincere when he says:] That's pretty incredible, actually. My friends and I...back home, we got involved with a murder case. It probably would've been easier to crack with someone like you on the case.
[ he can't quite help the laugh that he lets out at that — because, damn, that's got to be the easiest way someone's ever taken this whole thing. and he really, really appreciates the effort. ]
Yeah, you could say that.
[ but then what follows sweeps all the laughter away, leaving just his furrowed brows as he looks at yu. ] Wait, shit, really? How'd that go, then?
[He'll have to start working on some old man jokes...
Yu pauses at Charles's change in tone, at the question that comes out of it, and he can't help a slight grimace. They had all really been amateurs, hadn't they? Well, all but Naoto, and she had judged them all plenty for their rash inexperience.]
It could have been better, [he admits somewhat reluctantly. If someone had been able to figure things out earlier, maybe Saki-senpai would still be alive.] My uncle wasn't pleased, either. We caught the guy in the end, but...it took a lot of effort.
but in response to yu's slightly reluctant admittance of their not entirely smooth detective operation, charles only has a soft, understanding look to give in return — he knows, after all, what it's like. what it's like to muck up a case, what it's like to find out the truth and wish you hadn't, what it's like to solve a case and have a client go vengeful in response... it's a rare thing where things go perfectly. ]
Hey, you solved it, though. That's what matters. And yeah, maybe someone else could have done it differently — better, even... but they didn't, did they? You cared enough to try and solve it, and got to it, in the end. [ and that's no small thing. ]
Hmm, [is his first response, neutral, uncommitted. Maybe Charles is right. Izanami could have picked anyone, but it was him. He could have ignored all of the strange things happening, but he didn't.
In the end, he's better for it.]
You're right. No matter what could have happened, in the end, it was us. [Sorry not sorry, Uncle. --anyway, back to paying attention to Charles instead of him.] You're pretty good with pep talks. Do you do them often?
[ what is this conversation, some kind of attention-deflecting tag game where every few topics they bounce the ball onto the other's court, and with it the spotlight... ]
What? [ he blinks, and, well, ] Not really. But I talk to clients often. [ and he's very good at reading a room, excellent at finding the right words to say, the ones that he believes whoever he's talking to will want to hear. and though the reason why he can do that is... well, kind of traumatic, at least he can put his skills to good use. ]
[Honesty chicken with two guys who would rather talk about anything but themselves... Unfortunately, Yu looks at this as a challenge. And he sure does love a challenge.
His smile tugs wider at the initial response, as well as the follow-up.]
I'd say it counts. It's not easy, reassuring people who need help. [But it's definitely necessary. Yu hasn't had years of experience with it, in the same way, but they had to do plenty of that with the kidnapping victims, after they rescued them. Even before they really became friends.]
[ charles just sort of gives a shrug in response — one that seems to mean i guess, and actually means it has always been easy for me for reasons i will not get into, but, you know! same difference.
so, with an easy smile, ] Sure, if you say it counts.
But you're not bad at this whole being encouraging thing, either. So I reckon you've got some experience with it, too, yeah?
Yu's shrug mirrors Charles's, maybe for a sense of poetic justice. Yu's a little less cagey about this particular stuff; he's just used to helping people out. It's not as deep, for him. So he takes the ball, this time, waiting for an opportunity to send it back.] I guess I do, yeah. Maybe I just have a face that makes people think I'll help them out.
[ look, there's only so much trauma that is acceptable to bring up in a conversation — that being, you know, none, which means his secrets do indeed stay his. for him, being friendly had been the only option: as a biracial, working class guy growing up in the eighties, his easygoing attitude and ease at winning people over had been his only defense, until even that hadn't saved him.
the comment makes him take a more careful look at yu, almost exaggeratedly so. ]
Yeah, guess I can see it. [ he grins, then. ] And let me see — they think you'll help out and then you do?
[There's some irony in this statement; Yu has a great poker face, so he's actually not easy to read at all. That can make things a lot more fun when he's joking or generally being weird, but it's harder for him to show when he's being sincere...and harder to open up, in general. It's not even intentional at this point, really, but he's been doing it habitually for so many years that it's just hard to shake.
Doesn't make Charles' assessment less accurate, though: Yu Narukami will drop almost anything in order to help someone, at any given time.]
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You got it. [A little nod. Then, he tries to follow where Charles's gaze had gone to before...although he's not 100% certain on direction other than up.]
Something interesting happen up there?
[Sorry, my dude, he is both curious and nosy.]
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Just, thought I saw something there. I'd say I should get my eyesight checked, but —
[ he shrugs and grins like this is somehow a great joke; you know, ghost, can't get bad eyesight when you're dead, ha ha. ]
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[Weird may be putting it mildly -- he's still trying to process a lot of it. Not just the recent murderous infection that swept the population, but the strange and sudden appearance of his own Shadow. Shadows, plural. To say it's been on his mind a lot would be an understatement; more accurate to say he's been fixated on it.
But, for now, he tilts his head, trying to lean into something lighter.] You mean they don't make glasses for ghosts? What a surprise.
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but no time to dwell on that, is this? he summons a grin and gives yu a half-shrug. ]
Well, actually, think there's a few places in London where you can get some, you know, if something happens to the pair you got. Mostly meant your sight can't really get worse when you're not alive anymore.
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Well, that's a bad feeling. Better shove it aside.]
Figures that London would have that kind of service. [Get it, because London probably has a lot of dead people...anyway,] So, what did your ghost eyes see? [I'm. actually kind of sorry for that one--]
im so mad dw never gave me the notif for this?? what gives, dw
at the question, he actually laughs, first, before shaking his head. ]
Nothing. Was trying to keep an eye out for another ghost — dunno if she's real, but someone asked me to, so... [ so! he might as well be looking. ]
dw honestly that's so rude!!!
Do you do that often? Looking for ghosts. [A beat.] Other ghosts, I mean.
[He seemed pretty at ease with it, after all. And how long did he say he'd been a ghost for...a long time, right? Maybe he makes a habit of that -- looking for other ones. The overthinking train continues rumbling along at a manageable pace, for now; he's busying himself by wondering what the haunting situation might have been like in Inaba, and whether they would have found the killer sooner if they'd been able to talk to the victims...
Ah. Anyway.]
right!! if i hadn't opened ur inbox i would have never seen it.... tragedy
[ so with a lot of ghosts as clients, and then meeting even more during casework... yeah, he's pretty familiar with others, sure. here it's different — everyone looks the same, and everyone can see him, so determining who might be a ghost and who not is a much harder thing to do. ]
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[He can't imagine what sort of service a ghost would need from that kind of organization, but he is utterly fascinated by the prospects.]
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[ the smile he aims at yu is both slightly abashed and incredibly earnest — because as weird as it may be, explaining it to people here... it's still something he's really, really proud of. ]
The Dead Boy Detective Agency. Me and Edwin, we solve cases for ghosts. A lot of ghosts got unresolved business, you know, that's why they linger. So we make sure they matter... and help them move on.
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My uncle is a detective, actually. [Ah. A light pang of homesickness -- he'll get over it.] ... Not for ghosts, though. That's really amazing. I can see how something like that would be really useful.
[... he wonders, somewhat, if an organization like that would have been able to do something for the murder victims in Inaba. Did solving their murder help them move on...? He doesn't say anything along those lines, though, instead latching onto another Hint, unfortunately.]
Edwin. You told me about him before, right? The best friend.
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[ his smile is easy, too, a tad understanding — he can hear it, the slightest bit of longing for home, and really, who wouldn't have that, here? and if he ducks his head slightly at the compliment, well. he's never been particularly good at taking those.
so when the topic shifts, he actually exhales in abject relief, don't mind him, ]
Yeah, that's him. We sort of started solving cases accidentally, ran into this one lady who wanted help... and then realised we were pretty damn good at it. Founded the agency about a year after meeting each other.
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So! Let's not!!
Anyway, he's trying to put together pieces of information that Charles has given him, finally coming up with the following question:] So you've been doing this for a while, then? [Didn't he say he and this other guy had been friends for a long time? Years?
It-- kind of sounds nice. Doing that sort of work all the time.] What sort of cases do you take? Or...are you not allowed to say?
[Something something confidentiality of police information-- he's never been very good about following those rules. Sorry, Uncle.]
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[ which is... a lot, yeah, he knows. when dealing with other ghosts, it had never seemed like that, but here — well, it's impossible not to know how different his afterlife is, compared to the mostly human lives of those here. ]
What? No, course I can say. [ with a light laugh, ] But there's loads of different kinds. Anything someone wants us to look into. Sometimes we solve the causes of their deaths, but other times it's that a building near them's haunted, or someone's gone missing, someone they know's behaving weird... all kinds of things.
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So you've got some experience, is what I'm hearing.
[He plays off the surprise pretty casually, putting levity in his tone and expression. Yeah, it's kind of weird. A lot, maybe. But everything around here is weird, right? And his own story isn't exactly more normal. Besides, he's sincere when he says:] That's pretty incredible, actually. My friends and I...back home, we got involved with a murder case. It probably would've been easier to crack with someone like you on the case.
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Yeah, you could say that.
[ but then what follows sweeps all the laughter away, leaving just his furrowed brows as he looks at yu. ] Wait, shit, really? How'd that go, then?
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Yu pauses at Charles's change in tone, at the question that comes out of it, and he can't help a slight grimace. They had all really been amateurs, hadn't they? Well, all but Naoto, and she had judged them all plenty for their rash inexperience.]
It could have been better, [he admits somewhat reluctantly. If someone had been able to figure things out earlier, maybe Saki-senpai would still be alive.] My uncle wasn't pleased, either. We caught the guy in the end, but...it took a lot of effort.
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but in response to yu's slightly reluctant admittance of their not entirely smooth detective operation, charles only has a soft, understanding look to give in return — he knows, after all, what it's like. what it's like to muck up a case, what it's like to find out the truth and wish you hadn't, what it's like to solve a case and have a client go vengeful in response... it's a rare thing where things go perfectly. ]
Hey, you solved it, though. That's what matters. And yeah, maybe someone else could have done it differently — better, even... but they didn't, did they? You cared enough to try and solve it, and got to it, in the end. [ and that's no small thing. ]
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In the end, he's better for it.]
You're right. No matter what could have happened, in the end, it was us. [Sorry not sorry, Uncle. --anyway, back to paying attention to Charles instead of him.] You're pretty good with pep talks. Do you do them often?
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What? [ he blinks, and, well, ] Not really. But I talk to clients often. [ and he's very good at reading a room, excellent at finding the right words to say, the ones that he believes whoever he's talking to will want to hear. and though the reason why he can do that is... well, kind of traumatic, at least he can put his skills to good use. ]
So if that counts, then I guess, yeah, actually.
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His smile tugs wider at the initial response, as well as the follow-up.]
I'd say it counts. It's not easy, reassuring people who need help. [But it's definitely necessary. Yu hasn't had years of experience with it, in the same way, but they had to do plenty of that with the kidnapping victims, after they rescued them. Even before they really became friends.]
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so, with an easy smile, ] Sure, if you say it counts.
But you're not bad at this whole being encouraging thing, either. So I reckon you've got some experience with it, too, yeah?
[ attention: shifted. ball: over the net. ]
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Yu's shrug mirrors Charles's, maybe for a sense of poetic justice. Yu's a little less cagey about this particular stuff; he's just used to helping people out. It's not as deep, for him. So he takes the ball, this time, waiting for an opportunity to send it back.] I guess I do, yeah. Maybe I just have a face that makes people think I'll help them out.
[Which he does. Constantly.]
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the comment makes him take a more careful look at yu, almost exaggeratedly so. ]
Yeah, guess I can see it. [ he grins, then. ] And let me see — they think you'll help out and then you do?
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Guess I'm just that easy to read, huh?
[There's some irony in this statement; Yu has a great poker face, so he's actually not easy to read at all. That can make things a lot more fun when he's joking or generally being weird, but it's harder for him to show when he's being sincere...and harder to open up, in general. It's not even intentional at this point, really, but he's been doing it habitually for so many years that it's just hard to shake.
Doesn't make Charles' assessment less accurate, though: Yu Narukami will drop almost anything in order to help someone, at any given time.]
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