[A new set of steps and noises feel odd in a castle that holds so few. Zazie keeps to themself. Vash is a consistent presence in other ways. A comfortable routine settled, familiar noises that remind him of his plodding neighbors back in Tokyo, enough distance between everyone that all sound is short lived.
Maruki does nothing outlandish, but he hears the fridge open, doors open and shut, tap, tap, tap along castle stone.
Maybe he's just searching for it - trying to memorize whatever Maruki does, so the second he steps out of line, acts abnormal, settles too close to his room-
He can be prepared.
A pounding headache and waves of nausea vanish within, what felt like, a few minutes laying on his shitty blanket - the sun is far too low in the sky for it to have been that.
By the time he ambles back out - Maruki is settled. That's fine. Vash invited him, so he should be the one to be a tour guide around this place. Akechi did the bare minimum and-]
Malnutrition?
[8 letters. Starved. No. Hunger. No. Famine. No.
It's bizarre how easy it is to settle into this game.]
[ He glances back down, finishes the word he was in the middle of writing – dashi??? – and then holds it up for Akechi to see. ]
Groceries. I'll take care of it tomorrow.
[ He rolls himself up off the couch, already so much more relaxed in a home that has furniture that isn't in a state of disrepair, and crosses over to the table with the crossword and the coffees. ]
That one is yours if you'd like, but if your stomach is still off, I'll gladly drink both. I was just excited to have a coffee maker again!
[ He'd only given the crossword a glance earlier, not wanting to get too much of a head start if Akechi slept for a while, but there's one he spotted right away. ]
Founder of client-centered therapy. Rogers. That was all I found before I got distracted and it was just luck.
Oh, I do quite well for myself - thank you. I have three meals a day, just simply from town. I can't speak for the others in this castle though.
[The implication he doesn't take care of himself an annoying observation he rebukes instantly - confident and no hint of a lie belied in his tone.
But groceries are good, probably. Akechi doesn't bother with it. There's no point in this shithole and he won't cook. Maruki can do what he wants - he apparently lives here now and-
The coffee is accepted without a word - hot on his lips and with a much needed caffeine boost on the horizon. Spending all night laying around isn't productive.]
Thank you for the coffee and for the assistance. Rogers is...
[Noted, with small strokes of a pencil. Good. A familiar seat is settled into, coffee off the side, crossword on a counter-
Some things never change.]
That gives a four letter word for trash 'o' as the third letter and 's' as the first.
[This is the BANE of his existence - already hunched over the paper, scribbling different words for trash in the blank corner in small font.
[ Maruki rests an elbow on the table and leans his cheek into the palm of one hand, tipping his head to watch the words Akechi scratches out. His brows furrow thoughtfully – they have half of the letters, they should be able to figure out the rest!! – as he sips his coffee. ]
No one on Sleepr had any ideas? Huh. Irritating...
Please don't underestimate me. The other letters are correct - that I can assure you.
[No ideas though - a bizarre cryptic word with no Google in sight to confirm what it is or isn't.
He taps at 2 down (10 letters) and 4 down (7 letters) - empty blocks that will complete this nightmare word Akechi will commit to memory for the rest of his life. He shifts the paper askew, so both of them can read it comfortably as he takes slow sips of non-LeBlanc coffee.
2 Down - Home of Alan Shepard Park has a '?' scribbled to the side and 4 Down - Emulate eels.]
['Wiggles' is etched into the blocks, a few 'across' are solved with that word to prove it's correct.
Which leaves The Cursed Word. The most annoying four letters in existence. S-_-O-W.
He leans back against the chair - shuts his eyes to mentally run through every combination of characters imaginable. This shit is unreal.]
You know, detectives have a strong desire to solve every mystery set before them. Because of that, I've taken on many cases. Most haven't baffled me as much as this word.
[Old Lady with a missing pet?? Cheating scandals?? Even some murders were blatant in their motivation. The little day to day crimes he solved don't hold a candle to this.
There's a pause. He opens his eyes and-]
I'm going to the library first thing in the morning. If anything, a dictionary should help - hopefully the copies there are modern enough to have such a bizarre word. I'm starting to think it's slang from a different reality.
[ Maruki stares down at the paper, bewildered. He has a pretty extensive vocabulary, but this is new to him. He too starts running through letters in his head. ]
... Slow? As in, to slough off? No, that doesn't make sense.
[ Think, Takuto. THINK. You are smarter than a dictionary. You have a doctorate degree. ]
Depending on the level of pollution, snow can certainly become somewhat trash-like... Ah, that's not it either.
[ There are only so many sounds starting with s-consonant that it could be. He runs through them all in his head again and sighs. ]
I'm counting on you to defeat this evil tomorrow. It may haunt me.
Of course. A detective's goal is always to find the truth and this simple case is no exception to that.
[Slow, S_OW, Slough, Snow and other Words that Drive You Mad Part 1 - hopefully there's a book named that to keep him from having to spend his life searching through pages of an old fashioned dictionary.
When he gets back, he'll never take the internet for granted again.]
Shall we call it for the evening then? Maybe one of us will be hit with a stroke of genius while we sleep. It may not even require a trek to library.
so fucking cute i hate everything god. WRAPPED. COOKED. I'M COOKED
[ Maruki exhales a derisive little laugh at that and shakes his head. ]
I flatter myself to think I've had several strokes of genius in my life, but none would come close to being able to puzzle this one out.
[ Seriously. Stow? Show? Spow? SPOW ISN'T EVEN A WORD. What could it BE.
He's happy to admit defeat for the night and finishes off his coffee, gathers their cups. ]
But no, you're right. I need to figure out my room situation, anyhow. We'll continue our battle tomorrow.
[ Despite the fact that it's been long years since he lived with someone and he hardly knows Akechi well, barely knows Vash or Zazie, it's all too easy for someone as desperate for connection as Maruki to fall into a comfortable domestic routine. Table cleared, cups washed and dried. Shoes by the door and jacket in a closet (not Zazie's). Good nights exchanged casually in passing. A warm shower, a warm bed, the quiet sounds of others going about their lives above and below and around him.
He won't know until he sees him again in the morning that he happened to pick the room directly next to Akechi's. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
my life, my happiness, my joy - immense
Maruki does nothing outlandish, but he hears the fridge open, doors open and shut, tap, tap, tap along castle stone.
Maybe he's just searching for it - trying to memorize whatever Maruki does, so the second he steps out of line, acts abnormal, settles too close to his room-
He can be prepared.
A pounding headache and waves of nausea vanish within, what felt like, a few minutes laying on his shitty blanket - the sun is far too low in the sky for it to have been that.
By the time he ambles back out - Maruki is settled. That's fine. Vash invited him, so he should be the one to be a tour guide around this place. Akechi did the bare minimum and-]
Malnutrition?
[8 letters. Starved. No. Hunger. No. Famine. No.
It's bizarre how easy it is to settle into this game.]
Are there any revealed letters?
no subject
Underfed. That's what you guys are.
[ He glances back down, finishes the word he was in the middle of writing – dashi??? – and then holds it up for Akechi to see. ]
Groceries. I'll take care of it tomorrow.
[ He rolls himself up off the couch, already so much more relaxed in a home that has furniture that isn't in a state of disrepair, and crosses over to the table with the crossword and the coffees. ]
That one is yours if you'd like, but if your stomach is still off, I'll gladly drink both. I was just excited to have a coffee maker again!
[ He'd only given the crossword a glance earlier, not wanting to get too much of a head start if Akechi slept for a while, but there's one he spotted right away. ]
Founder of client-centered therapy. Rogers. That was all I found before I got distracted and it was just luck.
no subject
[The implication he doesn't take care of himself an annoying observation he rebukes instantly - confident and no hint of a lie belied in his tone.
But groceries are good, probably. Akechi doesn't bother with it. There's no point in this shithole and he won't cook. Maruki can do what he wants - he apparently lives here now and-
The coffee is accepted without a word - hot on his lips and with a much needed caffeine boost on the horizon. Spending all night laying around isn't productive.]
Thank you for the coffee and for the assistance. Rogers is...
[Noted, with small strokes of a pencil. Good. A familiar seat is settled into, coffee off the side, crossword on a counter-
Some things never change.]
That gives a four letter word for trash 'o' as the third letter and 's' as the first.
[This is the BANE of his existence - already hunched over the paper, scribbling different words for trash in the blank corner in small font.
UNREAL. He's so annoyed.]'
What sort of obscure word is this.
no subject
No one on Sleepr had any ideas? Huh. Irritating...
[ s q u i n t ]
You're sure the other letters are correct?
no subject
[No ideas though - a bizarre cryptic word with no Google in sight to confirm what it is or isn't.
He taps at 2 down (10 letters) and 4 down (7 letters) - empty blocks that will complete this nightmare word Akechi will commit to memory for the rest of his life. He shifts the paper askew, so both of them can read it comfortably as he takes slow sips of non-LeBlanc coffee.
2 Down - Home of Alan Shepard Park has a '?' scribbled to the side and 4 Down - Emulate eels.]
Any ideas?
no subject
I'm not underestimating you. Simply double checking. Let's see–
[ He doesn't even know what Alan Shepard Park is, so he focuses on the other and begins to scribble words along the margin on his side. ]
Squirms? No... Slither? Ah, what else do eels do...
[ He picks his head up to stare out the window, gaze unfocused, pencil pressed to his lips. ]
Wiggles? I feel like the clue doesn't indicate a conjugated verb, though.
no subject
Which leaves The Cursed Word. The most annoying four letters in existence. S-_-O-W.
He leans back against the chair - shuts his eyes to mentally run through every combination of characters imaginable. This shit is unreal.]
You know, detectives have a strong desire to solve every mystery set before them. Because of that, I've taken on many cases. Most haven't baffled me as much as this word.
[Old Lady with a missing pet?? Cheating scandals?? Even some murders were blatant in their motivation. The little day to day crimes he solved don't hold a candle to this.
There's a pause. He opens his eyes and-]
I'm going to the library first thing in the morning. If anything, a dictionary should help - hopefully the copies there are modern enough to have such a bizarre word. I'm starting to think it's slang from a different reality.
no subject
... Slow? As in, to slough off? No, that doesn't make sense.
[ Think, Takuto. THINK. You are smarter than a dictionary. You have a doctorate degree. ]
Depending on the level of pollution, snow can certainly become somewhat trash-like... Ah, that's not it either.
[ There are only so many sounds starting with s-consonant that it could be. He runs through them all in his head again and sighs. ]
I'm counting on you to defeat this evil tomorrow. It may haunt me.
no subject
[Slow, S_OW, Slough, Snow and other Words that Drive You Mad Part 1 - hopefully there's a book named that to keep him from having to spend his life searching through pages of an old fashioned dictionary.
When he gets back, he'll never take the internet for granted again.]
Shall we call it for the evening then? Maybe one of us will be hit with a stroke of genius while we sleep. It may not even require a trek to library.
so fucking cute i hate everything god. WRAPPED. COOKED. I'M COOKED
I flatter myself to think I've had several strokes of genius in my life, but none would come close to being able to puzzle this one out.
[ Seriously. Stow? Show? Spow? SPOW ISN'T EVEN A WORD. What could it BE.
He's happy to admit defeat for the night and finishes off his coffee, gathers their cups. ]
But no, you're right. I need to figure out my room situation, anyhow. We'll continue our battle tomorrow.
[ Despite the fact that it's been long years since he lived with someone and he hardly knows Akechi well, barely knows Vash or Zazie, it's all too easy for someone as desperate for connection as Maruki to fall into a comfortable domestic routine. Table cleared, cups washed and dried. Shoes by the door and jacket in a closet (not Zazie's). Good nights exchanged casually in passing. A warm shower, a warm bed, the quiet sounds of others going about their lives above and below and around him.
He won't know until he sees him again in the morning that he happened to pick the room directly next to Akechi's. ]