ic inbox | ruby city

[heirdisqualification]

This is the voicemail of Byakuya Togami. Leave your business here, and I'll determine whether or not it's worth my time.

Comments

[unholey]

Do you think it would be worth it to go down there. To try and find her?

[heirdisqualification]

It would be illogical. I'm not a proficient fighter, and I doubt that you have any combat tricks up your sleeve.

So: yes. Very worth it.

[unholey]

Well, maybe you should have a little more faith my ability to be terrible.

I have a trick. It's just dangerous. Especially in closed, dark spaces.

[heirdisqualification]

What, is it to beat something to death with a dictionary? Besides, I was hardly suggesting we go down there ourselves. I was more going for "extort someone else into doing it".

[unholey]

Never mind. Forget I said anything.

Who do you think would even go down there?

[heirdisqualification]

There's a lot of real idiots around that likely have nothing better to do. Either that, or someone who is fairly powerful and accepts payment in many tasteful pieces of literature and/or pasta. Or just somebody who likes Lucy enough to do this. Does she have any friends?

[unholey]

Togami. We are her friends. You and I. The three of us, we're friends.

1/2

[heirdisqualification]

[Give him a minute.]

2/2

[heirdisqualification]

Damn. This may actually be our responsibility, then.

[unholey]

[Fugo can't help it. He thinks of Sheila, specifically Sheila with her round chin plopped into her palms. For someone so smart I think you'd lose your big stupid nose if it wasn't attached to your face, she said, unimpressed, after Fugo awkwardly asked her if they were friends. She reached out to take it between her forefinger and thumb, tugging sharply to make him look her in the eye when she said: Of course we are.]

The problem is finding a way to help her without getting lost ourselves. She'd be very angry if we did that.

[heirdisqualification]

[Togami thinks of someone entirely different, someone who never once doubted their friendship before they were even close to friends. Vaguely, he considers that kind of stubborn commitment to something so awful, like the last residents of a ghost city. It's alright. Having friends is being host to people who don't care enough to skip town, to read the black-box warning, and it's alright.]

I haven't ever been down there, myself, but I know the basis of how most labyrinths work. What were you saying about your little trick?

[unholey]

I told you to forget about it, so forget about it. I'm not going to talk about it.

It would be more productive to try and consider the logistics of the trip. Supplies and such.

[heirdisqualification]

Fugo, you can't just start telling me something and never finish. It's not helpful.

I have plenty of nonperishables, in terms of food, but hardly anything like a flashlight. I don't think anyone here does, but you can ask around.

[unholey]

There is only so helpful I can be in one day, Togami.

I will. I can't go down there if we don't have a steady source of light.

[heirdisqualification]

You can't continue to be this weird and cryptic without explaining why. Whatever. I'll get food if you find yourself a flashlight.

[unholey]

If you need to know, I'll explain it to you. Right now, in this moment, you don't need to know. I shouldn't have said anything to begin with.

I'll start looking.

[heirdisqualification]

I'm DYING, Fugo. You're MURDERING me. You're going to be charged with one count of INCIDENTAL MANSLAUGHTER if you have a good enough lawyer, and THIRD DEGREE MURDER if you don't. I WILL NOT bail you out of jail.

[unholey]

1. No you aren't.
2. No I'm not.
3. There's no court of law here.
4. Even if there were, no judge worth his salt would indict me.
5. Even if all of those things WERE true joke's on you Giorno would bribe everyone up to their gills and I'd get away with it anyway because the judiciary system's a sham.

[heirdisqualification]

1. Yes I am.
2. Yes you are.
3. It was hypothetical.
4. That's patently untrue.
5. Are you suggesting that Giorno, someone who is roughly 5'6" and 16 years old, has more power and money than the Togami Conglomerate?

[unholey]

1. You are typing an awful lot for someone who is being murdered.
2. See 1.
3 & 4. I'm pretty sure that I'm right about both of these things.
5. Are you suggesting that your lawyers have a chance against Giorno's disgusting amount of wealth and the full extent of his charm? Note: He's been operating at about 15% effectiveness in the city.

[heirdisqualification]

Listen. I don't care how powerful you think he is, or how powerful he thinks he is, because he's never going to be a Togami, part of the family that runs the world. It's cute that you think he could possibly beat me--charm doesn't matter.

Also, I'm still very much MURDERED. I just have good typing skills.

[unholey]

You're entitled to your wrong opinion. It's not cute, though.

Typing skills should be moot I think when you're a corpse. Are you a zombie? Or are you a ghost. If you're a ghost, please tell the library ghosts to fuck off and haunt another building already their shenanigans are entirely tiresome.

[heirdisqualification]

Alright, Fugo, I'm dropping this frankly ridiculous act of post-mortem messaging. I'm not murdered, but I am slightly offended that you don't see me fit to tell what seems like a fairly trivial piece of information to. It's disheartening.

(That was a joke. I am never disheartened, but I am curious.)

The ghosts in the library are fine if you give them space. I lived there for a short time before I came into possession of the bookstore.

[unholey]

In the interest of honesty.

It's not a trivial piece of information. It's very personal. And it's not something I like talking about. I don't think I even really meant to say anything to you about it, it's just

I'm very upset about Lucy. I shouldn't have said anything, but it slipped out.

[heirdisqualification]

Right. Of course.

[Mentally, he makes a note to look into anything Fugo might be hiding. It's annoying that something exists as a secret to him, because Byakuya Togami is long beyond childish things like secrets. He wants information, and he gets information.]

Can I tell you something? In the interest of honesty.