Funeral Service for Adaman and Hodaka Morishima

[giddyundertaker]

[ An hour or two after the first trial's end, Hild and the Undertaker set out to invite as many people as possible to the Restaurant for the funerals of our dearly departed friends.

Why the restaurant of all places? Because there aren't enough chairs and tables elsewhere.

Indeed, some of the tables have been moved against the wall to make room for the seats. The chairs have been set up in four rows of six, like an improvised theater or a church. To the side, a small buffet has been set up courtesy of Obi, Mafuyu, and Hild. As for the main event? Two tables have been set up and decorated in black fabric and white flowers. In lieu of a live viewing, two drawings referenced from the profiles have been set up in the center of funeral wreaths... They're not the best, due to the artist's handicaps, but it does look like Adaman and Hodaka at least.]

Comments

[inaclearing]

[Immediately after the trial, Brett disappears entirely into his room! There's no sound from inside; no telling what's going on in there.

It takes long enough for the invitation to be shoved beneath his door that he does, in fact, make an appearance at the funeral. He's changed clothes, from the tie-dye shirt and ratty jeans he's been wearing all day into the suit and tie that were provided for him. Even with so few clothes, this is the first time he's worn any piece of this outfit. He stands in a corner, picking dutifully at some water and a little bit of food. He does know that you have to go on eating and drinking.

He looks totally fine, if a bit withdrawn. You'd have to look very closely to catch the slight bit of red still remaining around the rims of his eyes.

He sticks around for a while. Maybe he talks to some people who seem upset. He's good at talking to people. But funerals...Brett is not good at funerals. The whole setup just fills his head with snow - puts him somewhere else. After he figures it's been a respectable amount of time, he leaves without a word of farewell to anyone, fleeing once more back to his room.

Only once it's quite late does he re-emerge. Just to go to the restaurant. His meager efforts at the funeral weren't really a proper meal. He's hungry, but he also doesn't really want to eat; he sits and flips blankly through a menu.]

restaurant

[dullshooter]

[Misfire’s just been…wandering. It’s a wandering kind of night. He has no reason to be at the restaurant, but it’s at least a different room.

And hey, his suitemate’s there. Misery loves company.]

Hey, loser. [He leans over his shoulder, studying the menu.] I could be wrong, but I don’t think staring at it is how it works.

[inaclearing]

[Brett startles, having somehow not heard Misfire's approach despite him being a large robot.]

Oh - hey, yeah. I just... [He blinks down at the menu again. He wasn't even really reading it.] I know I need to eat.

[Implied: but he isn't really feeling like it.]

[dullshooter]

Yeah, otherwise we’re going to have you fainting again. And I’m not sure how many times the human body can stand that.

[Misfire inspects the menu from Brett’s shoulder.]

If there’s just too many options, why don’t you let me pick?

[inaclearing]

...sure, okay.

[Brett barely reacts to the joke about him fainting, which is possibly not a fantastic sign. But he can recognize that the size of the menu is sort of overwhelming him at the moment. He folds it up and hands it over, without much thought for the fact that Misfire is a robot and likely has no idea what's good or not.]

[dullshooter]

Alright, let’s see what we’ve got.

[Misfire doesn’t waste any time between taking the menu and punching in the order. He’s not picking things entirely at random, but there’s not much thought in it; everything ordered had a French-sounding name, and is mostly desserts.]

There, now I’ve saved you from starving from indecision. You can thank me later. …Or now. I don’t think it takes very long.

[inaclearing]

[lol, Brett's gonna be sick]

Thanks, Misfire.

[A moment of silence. He's always sort of withdrawn when...bad things happen. Brett knows this about himself. He also knows it isn't the healthiest thing in the world. Luca'd worry.]

I'm not...I'm bad at funerals. [That's the least of it, but it's something.]

[dullshooter]

[Misfire decides to take a seat in that blip of silence, and relaxes into it as much someone of his build can.]

Never been to one, or been to too many?

cw: parent death

[inaclearing]

Too many.

[He stares at the tablecloth, fingers drumming idly.]

I lost both of my parents when I was thirteen. I'd never been to a funeral before that, and then - [He shakes his head.] To be honest, I barely remember them. The funerals. I know I went, I remember being there, but I'm not sure I could tell you a single thing that happened.

[If he's zoned out now, imagine how it was then.]

[dullshooter]

[There’s such a whole world of difference between them that Misfire can’t even begin to imagine what Brett’s situation would be like; not only having parents, but losing them too, and having a brain that’s still developing enough to be shaped like that.]

…That’s rough, buddy.

[Is about all he can say, with a sympathetic frown.]

The good news is, you don’t have to be good at them. As in, you don’t have to do funerals. Sure, there’s social pressure and obligation and the worry that everybody’s gonna think you didn’t give a scrap if you don’t show up, but…

[He shrugs.]

Once you get past all that, then you’re free to pay whatever respects in your own way.

[inaclearing]

...I guess so.

[Brett sighs gustily, scrubbing a hand over his face. This is the first funeral he's been at in years. Howl never really had one. All they did was plant those trees, which was entirely different.]

I just don't want to look cold. Especially since...especially now.

[Especially since he's always had issues with showing emotion in front of other people. Any tears he's shed today have been strictly in private, but maybe that makes him look like he didn't feel anything much.

Especially since he sort of pushed Hodaka to that breakdown in the first place.]

[dullshooter]

After what you did for the little loser today, anyone who thinks you're just looking cold needs their head checked out. Preferably with my fist.

[The way Brett helped Hodaka calm himself in the trial came from nothing but compassion, and even an idiot like Misfire can recognise that.]

But I'm willing to be flexible.

[inaclearing]

[Brett lets out a shuddery breath and shakes his head.]

I'm the one who -

[He's the one who pushed them all to find the solution. He's the one who went on digging. Maybe he didn't exactly drag that awful confession out of Hodaka, but it feels that way.]

Restaurant

[pairtner]

Brett.

[The voice comes before Aiba climbs on the table, the hamster thing waddling until she's a few inches from the edge of the other side of the table, and stands there.

.........

On second thought, perhaps talking about this kind of topic goes better when you do so with a human than with...her real self. Taking advantage of the direct line of sight to his eyes, Aiba augments reality to project into his retinas the sight of her human self sitting to the other side of the table, looking right at him]

You were having a difficult time today during the trial, didn't you? I cannot say it with certainty, but it seemed like you were struggling.

[Dissociation, yeah]

[inaclearing]

[Brett blinks at this entire thing - he hasn't actually seen the little eyeball form before. The real indication that he's doing Bad is that he doesn't ask about it, or even really comment at all:]

Um - yeah, no, it's - of course, yeah. It was a lot. Anyone would be upset.

[pairtner]

[Hah, after everything that happened Aiba truly has said 'fuck it' to everything. The combination of both the hostages having been present and in person, and the events of the trial, pretty much stamped away her subtlety]

That's true -- but at the same time it felt like you were... [How to put it...

Maybe putting it in any way don't do. She may be presuming too much about how someone reacts, she figures.

Still...instead she asks:]

Had you formed a friendship with Adaman or Hodaka?

[inaclearing]

...yeah. Hodaka more than Adaman - I mean, I liked Adaman, but I'd talked to Hodaka more. He...told me some stuff about his hostage, before -

[Brett cuts off sharply, running a hand over his face.]

Why did I trust him?
I should have known.
What kind of person would leave him in there all alone?

[pairtner]

...seems like you're blaming yourself, Brett. Are you?

[It would be a natural reaction at times like these, she knows that, but...she asks it anyway.

That certainly was a piece of a song. Maybe Brett really is a bard]

[inaclearing]

[Brett, again, seems unconscious of the fact that he briefly broke into song.]

I knew how bad he was feeling. How he felt about that girl - I should've paid closer attention. Maybe if I'd stayed with him or something...

[pairtner]

[Hah, unknowingly a bard]

From his desperation I believe he would have tried to harm you, if you had stayed with him.

[Not that Adaman dying was any better of a result than Brett dying would have been]

[inaclearing]

I'm not seventeen.

[It wouldn't have been better, really. It's not like Brett wanted to end up dead either. But like...maybe it would've been better, a little?]

Maybe I could have...done something. [Not that he's that good at fighting. But was Hodaka?]

[pairtner]

.........

[Maybe he could have done something, maybe she could have done something...it's...something could have been done, doesn't matter who, she thinks. Perhaps she herself should have somehow.

...no, she can't continue thinking like this, she decides.

Both the hamster and the projection lean forward, looking determined]

The past can't be changed. We will only make ourselves feel worse if we get locked into a cycle of wondering if we could have done more. There must be something that can be done so tragedies like these won't repeat again.

From tomorrow on we need to get back on working on that.

[Even though she says that, Aiba remembers her simulated scenarios of what may happen still say a few more deaths will happen. Those were without taking into account the Mayor using motives like the hostages. Were she take that new factor into her scenarios, it would all get pretty grim.

Thankfully, Aiba refrains from saying a word about the terrible days that may still be ahead]

[inaclearing]

...right. Yes, of course.

[These are, of course, all things Brett already knows. This isn't his first time losing people. But it never really gets easier. It isn't always easy to take one's own advice.]

It's harder to know how to prepare for something like this. We don't even know what else he might pull.

[pairtner]

If something worked once, it will work again -- that is what most people think. I doubt the Mayor is an exception to that.

[So Aiba is pretty sure there will be more motives, welp. The variable is what it will be -- and the only certainty is that it will be cruel]

[inaclearing]

...yeah.

[Great, thanks, fun talk.]

Do you think there's anything we can do?