[04] welcome to the family mikotoba!

[judicialassistant]

Who: The Great Ace Attorney cast
Which: Closed log
Where: Casita The Mikotoba house.
What: The Mikotobas accidentally a little party gathering for Sholmes & Gina's arrival. Shenanigans ensue.
Warnings: None. Maybe Great Ace Attorney spoilers (will edit if this changes).

[ It's just a bit chaotic in the Mikotoba house today.  Between Susato and Yujin, they have managed to send out invites to everyone they know from home. Without the holidays to complicate things and require extra time shopping, Susato is expecting that this will be a much simpler affair compared to Christmas, but with two extra heads and one (1) Good Boy to consider, she still finds herself doing quite a lot.

Most notably, the kitchen seems teeming with life. The tea kettle sounds, and the general smell of food fills the air. In the greenhouse outside, some of the younger dream snakes that found their home in the Wild Harvest have followed Susato and Kazuma home, feeding on small grasshoppers and other insects and pests threatening their Glowing Dawn collection. Speaking of which--blue Glowing Dawn petals still litter the floor......everywhere.

No, Toby, don't eat those--! ]


a. DRAWERS?
[ Someone has visited Reverein's newest bookstore, and that someone is Susato. On top of one of the dressers in Mikotoba living room, there is a copy of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and tucked within its pages is a particular wooden bookmark with a daruma head at the end of its ribbon.

Underneath it are a series of familiarly titled stories: The Final Problem, The Hound of the Baskervilles,, and more. Anything with his name on it? Susato grabbed it, "payment" being an afterthought.

There's only one problem: the name on the spine and the cover is Sherlock Holmes. The author is listed as someone named Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and most notably not John H. Wilson. No worries though! While Susato hasn't done anything about the author's name, she has helpfully placed a sticky note with a disapproving frown drawn over it over the S in Sherlock, and another sticky with the letter S on it just above the letter H in Holmes, with a little arrow pointing to where it should be.

She hasn't done this for all the Holmes books, but the idea is clear. ]

b. FLOORS!
[ With the extra company in the house, the smell of food, and all of the beautiful blue flower petals around the house, newest Good Boy Inspector Toby is very excitable and curious. He can be seen, tail wagging, most notably around the kitchen due to the smell of food, but when he's not hoping to get scraps, he can also be found playfully chasing what looks like a cat that's taken a dip in chocolate--a cat that looks suspiciously like Wagahai. (This is fine! Clearly.)

He may also sniff excitedly at your feet, walking behind you and sometimes cutting in front as you pass by as if purposely trying to trip you up. ]

c. DOORS!
[ Why is there a giant hole where the front door should be, you may ask, with nothing but splintered wood remaining of the poor door frame? More importantly, why is there a cherry-blossom pink colored curtain draped over the hole as if trying to hide it? Well, that second part is 100% Susato's fault. It's a long story, but today the problem is finally getting fixed, just as Kazuma-sama promised.

On the ground outside, he will find new wood, a hammer, nails, a new door--whatever he could need. Susato can be seen carefully taking down the pink Japanese-style curtain she has chosen out, only to drape it over their couch inside. She absolutely plans to put it right back up once the repairs are done. She otherwise is too busy to fuss at Kazuma too much about any of the heavy lifting or intensive labor, but she isn't far, so be careful, big bro! Sis is watching. ]

d. LET'S GO!
[ Wild card option! Any other ideas taking place in the Mikotoba house or the attached greenhouse is welcome. Somehow it's a party, so enjoy! Yes, even you, not!Reaper. You know who you are. ]

Comments

[judicialassistant]

[ It's not like Susato meant to be secretive about it. Ever since Leia told her about Hyde, it had been at the back of her mind, but in light of everything, she hadn't had a chance to bring it up, and perhaps she decided it wasn't that important by comparson. With her finding the story at the new bookstore and things calming down (with regards to 76), she thought she might have a chance again, but she at least wanted to finish the book first.

She knows she left it right on top of the Sholmes--rather, the Holmes books, but when it isn't there, she thinks she must be going crazy. She has to check her own room to make sure before she finally checks the guest room where Kazuma was been staying and is shocked to find the book.

...But where is Kazuma himself? She paces the house for a little longer, but it doesn't take her long to check the greenhouse outside. With Jekyll & Hyde still in her hand, her expression softens, seeing the scene. ]

Now that's not fair. How come you all never sit on my lap like that?

[chippedsoul]

[A few garden snakes scurry back into the brush when a new voice comes in. The one his claws remains as Kazuma lifts his head, glancing in Susato's direction. He can't see the title on that book, but he recognize it's the one he left in the guest room, ah.]

I think I just have an unfair advantage over you. [Snakes stick around with snakes or something. Anyway, he's sure that's not why Susato is out here to see him.] You've been doing some reading I see.

[judicialassistant]

Is that true…? Do you like him better than me? [ Susato leans in towards the bush curiously, seeing a few sets of snake eyes stare back at her. She holds out her hand, and they don’t slither away, but some do hiss their response. Just one slowly pokes its head out to hesitantly crawl onto her hand, and Susato looks pleased. ] I know. That’s okay. You’re my favorite anyway.

[ Joke’s on you, Kazuma. She wasn’t here to see you at all. Well, maybe she was, but is he even ready to have this conversation? She just nods to quietly answer him. ]

I didn’t want to just take the book back without telling you. Thank you for not moving my bookmark, though.

[chippedsoul]

[He tilts his, watching her talk to the snakes.] Do you understand them...? [Or was she just teasing in front of him?]

And of course. Though, to be fair, I took it without asking you first. [The snake in his claws starts to move itself onto his shoulder. His tail sweeps the ground in an almost uneasy manner.] I was...surprise to see it existed here.

[judicialassistant]

[ Both...? Susato looks into the eyes of the young snake currently coiling around her hand. She doesn't exactly know how it happened, or the exact moment (if there even was one), but listening to them feels more natural than it did to decipher English, at first. ]

Is it strange if I do understand them? [ Of course it's strange. People aren't supposed to understand snakes, but they aren't supposed to be able to create fire, either. ] I already feel like a witch.

[ The snake finds its way to the copy of Jekyll & Hyde, which she'll get back to in a minute. She turns the book over, holding it as a flat surface where it can rest. ]

[chippedsoul]

...No. I suppose it's only to be expected. [When you hang around with a giant snake monster long enough.] Does it bother you? [She looks like she's enjoying herself, but her tone makes it seem like otherwise.]

[judicialassistant]

[ Susato meets Kazuma's eyes, and the young snake slithers past the book and onto her other arm, clearly content to play and explore It stops, poking its head upwards, as if curious about her answer, too. She shakes her head. ]

No, I didn't mean it like that. [ She rather likes having something else to share with Kazuma, even if it does feel like witchcraft. ] I think... they have rather interesting things to say.

[ Intelligent creatures. At least as far as she's gotten to know them. ]

...Anyway, I was a little surprised, too. The bookstore where I found it does not have a very large selection. Much of what they have are well-known plays, but I took a chance and asked.

[chippedsoul]

[He looks down at the snake hanging around his shoulders.] They're not telling you things behind my back, are they? [Judging by the teasing in his voice, he's not expecting a serious response to that.]

So there's a bookstore now, I see. [He hasn't exactly been wondering around town much to know.] I saw you brought back "Sherlock Holmes" books as well.

[judicialassistant]

[ She doesn't respond to his rhetorical question, but that does get an amused curl of her lips. Until Sherlock Holmes is mentioned, at least, which sounds so foreign when he says it, it reminds her how ridiculous she found it when she put on all those sticky notes.

Clearly she'd rather not talk about it, looking tired at the thought. ]

Yes, well... I might be having second thoughts about that. But he is not the character I would've liked to discuss with you.

[chippedsoul]

[He could hear the tiredness in her voice. Was it really that bad...? And then there it was. Her reason for picking up that book, coming to see him.]

...Mr. Hyde from the story, I take it. [He pets the snake now moving along onto his arm.]

[judicialassistant]

. . . [ Whatever sad Dance of Deduction she'd been planning--if it could even be called that--falls flat straight away. Susato finds herself wondering if the guilt had finally gotten to Leia, if maybe she just went ahead and confessed to Kazuma about the conversation they had, but she couldn't see Leia confessing to Kazuma without telling her.

Noticing how long she'd been silent, the snake now hanging off her arm hisses. She shakes her head. No, she doesn't need help or anything. Yes, it would be alright. It would, wouldn't it? She already wants to apologize, but that doesn't feel right either. She idly makes like she's going to flip straight to the last page of the book, but then just allows the pages to pass through her fingers, as if the feeling its edges gave her comfort. ]

When you became him... had you already read the story?

[chippedsoul]

...Almost immediately when I first arrived in that world. I had to figure out what this essence, this "power" was about. [He sets the snake down where it crawls up and around his leg.]

So you've worked that much out, hm?

[judicialassistant]

[ Susato shakes her head, gaze low as she watches the snake playing at his feet. Meanwhile, the one on her own arm has made its way up to her shoulder. She reaches her free hand up to pat its head.

Her plan to offer that he keep the book to read it first falls apart. ]

I can't entirely take credit for that. [ Is it important to him? ...How she found out? ]

[chippedsoul]

[A few serpents seem to sense the uneasiness as a few poke out of the bush to check on Kazuma.]

You're disappointed I didn't really explain it, aren't you? [It was only a matter of time. But as always, he continues to be stubbornly selective about what he wants to talk about.]

[judicialassistant]

[ The snakes don't scare her like they used to. She can tell they are checking on Kazuma, though, and she hates that she has to do this to him again. She can feel the air get slightly more oppressive in a subtle way, barely noticeable. ]

How should I feel? [ She speaks quietly at first, but then she continues in the only way she can think of to convey how she feels. ] If it were me... If I confessed to the murder of several, would you have just-- [ It's at this point that she stops abruptly, almost choking. Realizing that it had been her own fault all along for letting that go unquestioned, in her desire to be supportive of him. She catches herself getting more and more animated however, and--not wanting to upset the snakes, she visibly deflates, defeated. ] ...Would you not want to know why?

[chippedsoul]

...Hm. You make a valid point. [He pats a few snakes, feeling as anxious as he was, just more visibly than him.] I understand, truly. It's just...not something I like to talk about. [Maybe he just doesn't want to further tarnish who he is to her. It's a side of him he hates and feels shame, letting it run wild when it did.]

[judicialassistant]

[ He doesn't want to talk about it? ...That's it?

Susato frowns, going quiet again. Maybe at one point in time, if he felt truly felt like he had no one, that would have been alright, but it doesn't feel fair now. She's here, for whatever it's worth, here to have the difficult conversations, to ultimately help him. To further her understanding of him, and his own understanding of himself... right? ]

Why not? [ Her voice aches with curiosity, the words coming out suddenly. ] If I already figured out the worst part, why would you not want me to know that it was that monster, and not you? [ Is there something about the story she's missing from not quite having finished it? ]

[chippedsoul]

That monster didn't just come out of thin air. If you know the story, then you know Hyde is a manifestation of the darkness that exist inside a person. [It's something he had to come to accept. He couldn't deny what Hyde essentially is. All the essence powers really did is made that concept a reality. All the more reason why he loathes it.]

[judicialassistant]

[ If you know the story. She swallows. It's been a while since she's felt out of her depth, like she's been thrown into the courtroom unprepared and been told, "swim." She stares at the bookmark, firm in its place, and it looks like she's ready to throw the book open right then and there, but her hand just rests. ]

Then... how is he stopped? How does it end?

CW: Suicide

[chippedsoul]

...You have the book. [His tail curls around him. The answer is already in her hands. But he suppose, since she's gotten this far and won't leave it be.] He isn't stopped. The doctor's ability to prevent the transformation worsens until eventually, their life ends with suicide by poisoning.

[He lifts his head, staring distantly ahead.] Of course, "Hyde" would never allow that to pass and took matters into his own hands. [Completely deprived Kazuma of control for him to do anything about it.]

[judicialassistant]

[ Her hand tightens into a fist. Given the nature of the story so far, it really shouldn't be surprising. Maybe it fits. Her stomach is still in knots though, far more used to detective stories where the culprit is always caught in the end, in one way or another.

She finally has to set the snake down as well, and after playing near her feet for a few moments, it joins the others in the bush. ]

Is that how he came to be in that realm? Was he perhaps trying to sabotage your restoration of the story?

[chippedsoul]

I was assigned the essence the moment I arrived. Like everyone who came into that realm by the Storyteller. [He might have raised his voice a little. He could tell Susato is trying to separate him from Hyde, reason with him that he's not responsible.]

Whether the outcome of the story followed the original or not didn't matter to the Storyteller, as long as it was completed. So Hyde could sabotage them all he wanted. And with each story we restored, he became even stronger. [So he was all for "restoring" stories.]

[judicialassistant]

[ Storyteller, Story Eater. Essences... The missing moon. Words and concepts jumble in her head and she winces with Kazuma's raised voice, struggling to understand. Why couldn't it just be simple? Kazuma isn't Hyde. Hyde isn't Kazuma. Even Kazuma speaks of him in the third person, so surely a part of him knows, or at least wishes it were true. Perhaps she truly needs to finish the story to understand what he means, to get to Jekyll's letter, but even then...

Even then. ]

Everyone lives with darkness inside of them. Just because yours is stronger than most does not mean you can just give up and push everyone away. [ She pauses, trying to steady her voice. ] Or maybe it's just me. Maybe you think me too young or annoying inexperienced.

Truthfully, I don't know. But it doesn't matter. I've nearly lost you more than once already, I won't...

[chippedsoul]

Running? [He laughs, but it's not out of happiness. No, there was something unhinged about it.] It came to a point that I didn't do anything to stop it. And for just one moment...I actually enjoyed it.

[Kazuma "Don't you just want to go apeshit" Asogi. But it's exactly what Hyde had been telling him all along. To stop denying that murderous side of him.] You can't possibly want to keep staying with me, someone who couldn't fight back their own darkness and rather embraced it instead. [He shakes his head.] You're far too good for me, and it's why I wish you would stop wasting your time, trying so hard to chase after something that was never there.

1/4

[judicialassistant]

[ Oh.

...Well alright. ]