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So you say. [Wasn't Superman a journalist? She has no patience for half-baked shitpiles like comic books, but a job like that is the perfect cover to nose around anywhere.] P-people can say any old thing to your face, but the truth doesn't have to be one of them. You're n-not stupid enough to take everything at face value, are you?

[Spare her the protagonist energy, please. She's had enough. She's done with genki do-gooders.]

Think about it. If you were r-running some kind of psycho mindgame and could pull people from all across the universe to play in it, are you going to settle for some completely average twat? Th-that's going to make for a boring story.

If I've learned anything, it's to expect the worst. They only p-pick people who can do exceptional things or who have survived in exceptional circumstances. [Herself being in the pitiful latter category. Never by choice, and never happy about it either. Why should she be stuck in the company of ninjas and witches and shonen anime sprung to life, just because she has the world's shittiest luck?

It's infuriating.]

So watch out. Be c-careful who you piss off here, unless you want to end up as a s-smoking corpse in the gutter.

[ she looks a bit offended at the whole 'you're not stupid enough to take everything at face value' thing, narrowing her eyes. ] What? Of course not!

[ but the rest of what she has to say... makes sense to her? like, she gets where she's coming from with all that, and she doesn't have much to argue against it. in fact, she's very squarely in the latter category herself — meryl is not even remotely exceptional in her physical abilities. she's tiny, she's weak, and she's just doing her best to keep up with those around her. it's her heart and mind where she shines, unable to take no for an answer or lie down and let something come to pass.

the last memories she has before coming here prove that tenfold, and it stings to have it bubble to the surface like this. she'd been pushing it down as much as possible, trying to move forward in this place. vash is here, and he's okay, but — that doesn't mean she can just forget about what happened in that room. or what happened before it, even. she was practically useless, only able to watch things happen around her or be protected from them.

she gets quieter, resting the pencil back on the table and placing her hands in her lap, for the time being. ]

... I'll be careful. [ she means it. ] You don't have to believe me, but I really don't have any "powers" like that. [ and if this place is as dangerous as she implies, she'll get her proof of that at some point. ] But — you're right about one thing. I've made it through some situations that I probably shouldn't have.

[ a beat, her hands curling softly into fists against her legs. ]

I heard dumb luck is important for a journalist to have. Makes sense, right?

[ hey meryl it might be a good idea to back out of this path your brains going down. ]

[Meryl you're breaking my damn heart over here.

Too bad Fukawa sucks and rather than empathize with the somber shift, she feels a prickle of glee. Good. Someone was listening to her. Taking her warnings seriously for once, instead of dismissing them or calling her ugly or stupid or bopping along with a pitchy whistle and a spring in their step.

Finally, someone with a lick of common sense.]

Th-that's good. I don't either, before you get any weird ideas. [Which she should be able to sus out logically: if she were trying to hide something she wouldn't have brought it up in the first place. What secrets she does have, while wild and dangerous, never sprung from a supernatural well of might. So technically, she's not lying! If Syo makes herself a problem later she'll deal with it.]

I guess... [It's probably the only reason Naegi's still alive. Luck and luck alone.] What do you p-plan do with yourself now? Have you found any leads?

[ it's a mercy in its own way that fukawa ignores the somber shift and continues on with her own version of the conversation. it keeps meryl from going down that hole right now, and she pulls herself out of it in order to deal with the here and now. there'll be time later to let it process — she had the same thought process when everything first happened with roberto. there were things to do, and she had to push through and do them. she hasn't just been running around learning nothing this whole time.

breathing in, she picks up her pencil again and taps at the paper, peering down at her unfinished notes. ]

Not enough to make any concrete conclusions yet, so I'll need to do more investigating. [ mmm, she's only just arrived here, and there's so much new information that it's been overwhelming. it'll take her some time to get her thoughts together. ]

You're welcome to help, if you like. But I'll want to see anything important with my own eyes, just to be sure of it.

[ she's happy to take info from people, but some things will need to be seen to be fully believed, as people are prone to twisting things. not that she doesn't trust fukawa, just that she's trying to keep her information accurate. ]

[Fukawa grunts, casting her gaze to the side.]

I d-doubt I'll be much use to you. I'm a novelist. My p-primary research is on the h-human heart itself. [Though admittedly, she has to pour over tons of information about setting and society and career specifics, psychological causes and effects. But she holds fast in her assumption.] We m-may both be writers, but conflating the two fields is a huge mistake. I'm not arrogant enough to think I can do your job, and you b-better not think you could do mine!

[Then there's the second asterisks under her name: being forced to solve insane mysteries to survive. Not something she's going to confess out the gate, the specifics aren't important here and they certainly could paint her in a bad light. Or worse, get her sappy looks of pity, maybe get mistaken for heart-felt bonding.

Absolutely not. She's here to tell people not to trip into a plot hole and die.]

But...if s-something important comes up... [She looks visibly pained. This is killing her.] I guess I'll tell you...

[ meryl holds her hands up in defense, the pencil still contained between her fingers in one. ]

N-No, no, it's nothing like that! I just think that it's helpful to have more eyes on things — you might see something I don't, you know?

[ hah... meryl knows she's a writer in the sense that she can weave together articles, but she doesn't fancy herself as a novelist or anything like that. her primary objective with her writing is to obtain and spread information for the good of humanity, however that takes form.

she sighs a little in relief to herself when fukawa seems to go along with the idea, though, and lowers her hands back down to the table. ah, thank goodness. ]

Yeah, you don't have to do a lot. I'd welcome any help you can give.

[Though wary as always, Fukawa's getting the feeling this girl is game to keep the peace. Meryl hasn't fired back in a major way, and she's easily flustered. That's annoying in its own right, but it's manageable. She could be dealing with a more choleric personality, or a stupider person altogether.]

Fine. I'll let you know if anything r-really important pops up.

[Please bask in her infinite generosity.]

As l-long as you don't hold out on me, either.

[ she's totally basking in the infinite generosity. well, maybe not quite, but she appreciates the help regardless. ]

Deal. I'll let you know if anything comes up on my end, too.

[ she's smiling now, leaning her elbows on the table and looking a little more comfortable in this situation. she feels kind of glad to have won fukawa over... it was a little rocky at some points there. she's not looking to have bad relationships with people right off the bat. ]

[Fukawa watches the smile spread wider over Meryl's sweet face, the easy stance of elbows on the other girl's knees. Suddenly her own haughtiness vanishes. She curls her spindly fingers around her books and draws them back into her middle, like a dragon sequestering its hoard.]

Okay.

[Silence. Her glare narrows.]

Bye then.

[She swoops out of her seat and scuttles away, thrusting her phone against the e-lock and slithering through the bedroom door before it's even popped open in full.

One pale hand slides it back into the frame, and then the foul air dissipates. Fukawa is gone.]

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