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]

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.

[unholey]

Go ahead.

[heirdisqualification]

I'm also very upset, and I would like very much to not be. How do I stop?

[unholey]

I don't

Know if I should answer that for you. Because stopping these sort of feeling doesn't really make them go away. They're just elsewhere. And turn into something much uglier.

[heirdisqualification]

Oh, you mistake me for someone who isn't used to this kind of thing. Let me make it abundantly clear: I have not felt a single unmodified feeling in a very long time. I have a very ugly pile of ugly things. I know what I'm doing.

But I've never been worried.

[unholey]

I don't know how not to worry. Because I worry all the time about-- everything, I guess?

It's easier to try and list the things I don't worry about.

[heirdisqualification]

Alright. I am not worried about the weather; it doesn't look like a storm so I can leave my clothes outside to dry. I am not worried about the cats; they have been fed for the morning and appear to be doing well as a collective. I am not worried about you. I am not worried about

ah

Fugo, I think I may be worried by more things than previously estimated.

[unholey]

See what I mean? It's a much more efficient method. Make sure to write yourself a note about the laundry, though, it will get dewy if you leave it out after dark.

It's funny, though. Most of the time it doesn't feel like a lot. I don't know if I'm just good at managing concerns or if I've just forgotten what it's like to not worry about things. I can't remember not worrying.

[heirdisqualification]

Already done. I run a tight ship; I'm not going to forget anything as crucial as laundry.

I don't feel anxious. I never feel anxious. Am I supposed to feel anxious when there's this much to worry about? I'm only feeling it now with Lucy, and I don't know why. I want to stop feeling everything. It's inconvenient at best and debilitating at worst. I want it gone.

[unholey]

Okay. That's good. I'm not surprised, but I'm glad it's not a concern.

I don't know. Feelings are stupid. Worrying is always worse when it's about or involves other people, maybe because it's impossible to completely anticipate what they'll do.