theairlock | week 1

[ Alright. Back to business.

First order of business is checking out that Unknown door. She had rigged it with a piece of paper, to see if anyone had been through it; has that piece of paper fallen out of the doorframe, or otherwise shifted, since last night? She ripped it, at the end, so she'll be able to tell if it's been picked up and replaced in a position that was different from the way she had originally planted it.

Once she has her results of that investigation, she's investigating the conference rooms, after the meeting; office hours should be over now, so she's mostly checking to see if there was anything left behind from a prior meeting, or anything else left here or otherwise out of place; any sign of anything peculiar written on the whiteboards, or erased notes that weren't too thoroughly cleaned...

The general library is next, and thankfully it looks like there are others who are looking around, too; it's always nice to have other people to cover more ground, so, she'll focus on how the books are organized. She's got a meticulous personality, so, if there are any books that are out of order on any of the shelves in the fiction section and in the guides, she'll catch it right away!

But, if that ends up fruitless, she'll just have to settle with scouring through the books on growing food in space. As the heir to a farming family, she can't help but be curious! And maybe she can make use of some of the techniques...

She's, obviously, free to bug at any point during her investigation, but, well, you know how she can be..! ]

[Probably around the time Chitanda is reading about space farming is when Jane comes to the library. The game books had been fun and all, but Lightning had mentioned that Chitanda wanted to talk to her about them? And then, she wanted her to ask about Hyouka...well, she's been looking for the other inquisitive Champion, and look at that, she's here. Jane clears her throat softly to get the other girl's attention.]

Chitanda? Hi...how are you doing today?

Ah, Crocker-san! Hello!

[ She does look a little brighter today; whether it's because she got all of her frustrations out yesterday by complaining to the Overseers, or because Lightning's out and about today, or some other reason, is a bit unclear, but the fact of the matter stands, and she isn't fuming like she was yesterday in the slightest. She still keeps her voice a little hushed, because she's in the library, but! She's at least smiling, today, and she even gives a small bow, just to be polite! ]

I'm doing fine, thank you for asking! Are you okay, though? I know yesterday was a little rough...I'm sorry, if I was a little upset.

I'm fine - please, don't worry about me. [She takes a seat next to Chitanda.] I know this isn't the most ideal place to have a conversation, but I don't want to tear you away from your reading material...erm, do you mind if I ask you about Hyouka? You said I should...

A-ah, yes! Thank you for reminding me, Crocker-san! I wanted to tell you about it because it had to do with my uncle, and the club...but I think it's the kind of story that would be important to hear, right about now, if you'd like to listen! It's a bit of a long story, so forgive me if I ramble a little bit, but...well, there's a bit I'll have to cover, before I get into what Hyouka actually is and all! It's a good mystery, though, if nothing else!

But, I do think you're right, and we should get a little more comfortable...would you like to step into our office?! I thought maybe, for our agency, we should rent out Conference Room C for a little while! ...You know, for Chitanda and Crocker!

[ Very creative... ]

Of course I'd like to listen - I wouldn't ask if I didn't.

[Oh...Conference Room C! Oh wow that's adorable, she loves it.]

Goodness, our own conference room! Aren't we lucky? I'm sure no one else would mind, there are other rooms available.

I think so, too! I mean, maybe we could decorate it a little bit, too? Put up some streamers or something, or maybe draw a couple of posters...It'd be nice if we could make it like a bit of a home away from home. All of the best club rooms are, after all.

[ But, it's probably comfier than talking outside, and it's soundproofed! There are nice big chairs to sit in, and a whiteboard to use, just in case...

It's not like it's a secret enough that they really need the soundproofing, but, well. At least now, it's a private conversation? ]

So, where should we begin...I think I should probably tell you about the kind of person my uncle was, first? Our relationship with his family had actually broken down a bit, before he had vanished, so it's a bit unfortunate that I don't have many people to tell me what he was like, now that I've grown up a bit...but, back when I was a child, he was probably my favorite uncle. He'd always have these big, grandiose stories to tell me, these tall tales that a friend of a friend would pass down to him, and he'd show me all of these little trinkets that he had picked up in his travels...he was very kind, and patient, too. Even as a child, I'd ask him the most ridiculous questions, one more silly than the next, but, he'd always have an answer for me. He was very well-read, you see, and spending so much time with him...well, that's probably the reason why I'm so curious now, or, at least, part of it. He certainly had a hand in indulging it, that's for sure.

[ She talks about it with no shortage of fondness, at least; her hands stay folded at her lap, while she talks in the chair, but she can't keep the smile from breaking out on her face when she talks about him. ]

Anyway...I'm not sure how or why I came to find this out, but, one day, I was maybe six years old? And I had discovered that he was in the Classics Club at Kamiyama High, the school I attend now. And, it was the strangest thing...he was always so ready to answer any of my questions, but, when I asked him about the Classics Club? It was almost like he was a totally different person. He kept shrugging me off, telling me to forget about it. That I shouldn't ask questions about it.

...Obviously, you know the kind of person I am. How could I let that go? I was curious, I couldn't stop thinking about it...even back then, I would get so fixated on these little mysteries, and it had honestly become my whole world. Day in and day out, I would ask him about it. I'd bug him over and over, "Please, tell me about the Classics Club!" I figured, one day, he would have to answer me. And, one day, well, he did.

[ Some things never change, she guesses. She brings a hand to the back of her neck; it was hard to tell her "no", even back then. This quirk of hers was probably worse when she was a child, if that's even possible... ]

But, Crocker-san, it was the strangest thing. Of course, now that I know what he had said, I'll never forget it, but, back then, when he answered me...I couldn't handle it, I suppose. He told me everything, and all I could do was cry and cry, like a newborn baby. And, on top of that, my mother had come rushing in to calm me down, but...my uncle didn't even make a move, to try and comfort me. He just said nothing, sitting in his chair with his pipe. And, after that, I guess I had blocked it out...I completely forgot about it until one day, when I was in middle school, I got a call that he had went off to India. And, well...he never came back.

Edited 2017-02-16 05:01 (UTC)

And perhaps it could tie into our detective group name? Being a C and all...it could be...C&C?

[It's not the most elaborate idea but it does get the point across. Chitanda can have top billing, she's the one who proposed they join forces.

But yes, once they've moved into ~their conference room~, Jane listens attentively to the setup Chitanda provides, a bit on the edge of her seat once they get to the part with the other girl's uncle not being forthcoming with his time in the Classics Club. Her brow furrows when Chitanda mentions how she reacted to that story, and how she'd blocked it out for so long...and then the man goes off and disappears...]

...So, what had happened, then? If...if it's difficult, a general idea is okay, don't strain yourself for my sake.

...Ah! Crocker-san, I...I love it! Yes, that's exactly what we'll call ourselves!

[ How did she not think of that?! ]

I was the one who asked you to tell me, though. I...have a commitment to the truth.

[ That's what Oreki-san would say. She knows it. She takes a bit of a breath, and looks right at Jane when she continues. ]

After he vanished, I became a bit fixated on remembering what he told me, and why it had made me cry. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get a firm grasp on any leads. I had no one to ask, and nothing to go off of, and not even the slightest clue where to begin, except, of course, the Classics Club itself. So, when I started high school, with the time before he was declared legally dead running short, I joined the club, and became the president. I needed to know what was so important here that it affected my uncle in such a way. And, well, that's where I met Oreki-san.

[ A blush hits her cheeks when she says his name, but, it's not enough of a stumbling block that it screeches her story to a halt. ]

It took me a month to work up the courage to ask for his help. But I had seen him, in that month, solve some mysteries that had stumped me so thoroughly, create these theories that were so spot-on...to listen to him work out a problem is amazing, Crocker-san. It's not like anything I've ever seen before. He had claimed he was just lucky, but...he needs to give himself far more credit than he does. He's incredible. B-but, anyway, I told him everything I just told you, and he agreed to help me. And the place we decided to start was with Hyouka. That was the name of the anthology that the club published every year, and we decided to look for the one from the year my uncle was in the club, the one that Sekitani Jun wrote.

And, curiously enough, when we found the anthologies, that one was nowhere to be found.

[ The plot thickens... ]

[JANE JUST THOUGHT OF IT NOW it's cool these things have to flow naturally. She beams, happy to have brightened up Chitanda a bit, but here we go - back into the story. And the plot really does thicken. Jane wouldn't have thought a club about classic literature would find so many mysteries falling into its lap, or that they would publish an anthology of any kind. You've got her hooked.]

So - was there nothing published that year? Or was it taken, or destroyed...? What happened next?

[ She's glad she's getting into it; she takes it as free reign to scoot in closer to the table as she continues the tale. ]

As it turns out, that particular anthology, the one from my uncle's class, was actually the first one to ever be called Hyouka. After that, it seems as though it started a trend, and every subsequent issue was to be named that, but, the fact of the matter stood that the first Hyouka, which my uncle had a hand in writing, was nowhere to be found. I was about ready to give up hope, at that point, but Oreki-san had suggested getting the other two members of the Classics Club involved, my friends Mayaka-chan and Fukube-san. I was a little...well, not apprehensive, but, it was more like I didn't want to trouble them at the time, but, in actuality, they were very understanding, and we had all gotten together to discuss our theories of what had happened to him, based on our research of the school, and that time period...

As I expected, though, Oreki-san's theory had completely trumped all of ours. It was brilliant. He even managed to track down the person who wrote the second Hyouka, which was published the next year, to corroborate his theory, but, that wasn't necessary in the slightest. He had the whole case open and shut before we knew it.

[ And now, she's about to pass it on. The story of her uncle, the reluctant martyr, is one she'll never forget again. She'll carry it with her forever, and drag it out into the light for the world to see, to make sure he knows, somehow, someway, that his sacrifice wasn't in vain. Her way of saying goodbye, of giving him his last rites, is to share the story in his stead, now that she's strong enough to do so.

Starting with Jane. ]

The first Hyouka, my uncle's work, had been removed from circulation because he was expelled from Kamiyama High. Back when he had attended the school, there had been talks amongst the school board, a plan to shorten the school festival from five days down to two. ...As you can imagine, the students at the time didn't take kindly to this idea. The festival was an important part of their school year, and they felt as though they were being cheated out of something that was rightfully theirs. And so, they began to protest. They refused to attend classes, would stand outside the building, day in and day out...but, it never gained the traction it needed until it eventually got out of hand.

[ Her whole body tenses up, but, she continues, not much caring if she tumbles over her words. ]

During one of the protests, the Martial Arts Center caught fire. The building burned to the ground, and that was the last straw for the faculty. The students would have their festival, it was decided, but, someone would have to take responsibility for the blaze. They waited four months, long after the festival had ended, before they decided to apprehend the person responsible.

According to the preface of the second Hyouka, Sekitani Jun was a hero, who had gotten them back their beloved festival. But that...to call him a hero isn't the right word. It's more like he was a...

[ She gulps, and then nods, as if to reassure herself. ]

If you were to ask him, he would call himself a sacrifice.

Edited 2017-02-16 23:32 (UTC)

[Jane listens, still on the edge of her seat, still attentive. She thinks, at first, why wouldn't Chitanda's other friends want to help? Even if she thought it'd be an inconvenience, friends are friends, and it did concern the records of the club they were all in...it would be easy to argue for looking for it.

Ah, but that's her own musing. As Chitanda continues, a quiet, mounting worry prickles at the back of her neck, and - she has to catch herself from interrupting the other girl when she reaches the part about the fire, noticing how she'd tensed. Jane's own brow furrows, until Chitanda mentions the apprehending - and then her eyes go wide.

No - no, but - that would imply - but what proof was there, to base such an accusation on someone, to completely remove them from a school's history? She's put it together just before Chitanda lays it out, but she lets the other girl drive in that final word before speaking up.]

That's...but why? What proof did the school have of his guilt? He couldn't have...he didn't take the blame on himself, did he?!

That's exactly what he did, Crocker-san. But it wasn't a noble thing, or anything like that. He didn't take the blame because he wanted to. He took the blame because the student body had needed a scapegoat, and my uncle had been convenient to pin the whole thing on. No one from the protests was willing to say that they had been the leader, and so, in a desperate moment, someone had thrown out my uncle's name, and the rest of the students had collectively latched onto it. My uncle, Sekitani Jun, was forced to pretend he organized the protests and take punishment, thrown to the wolves by his fellow students who turned a blind eye while he threw his future away. Sekitani Jun wasn't a hero. He was betrayed. And Hyouka was his message, to those who would come after him.

I didn't want to believe it, myself, of course, that such a cruel thing could happen...until Oreki-san made me remember what his message was. I had forgotten it before, but now, I never will: I had asked my uncle what Hyouka had meant, and that was when he told me the story. And he said to me, "Chitanda, you have to become stronger. If you're too weak, there may be a time where you aren't even able to scream." And that's what made me cry. I had this idea in my head, of a brutal killing, one where the victim was both alive and dead all at once, where he cried in anguish, but no one cared or even heard...and I simply couldn't handle it. I was too young, I couldn't understand, but...

I get it, now. I should have explained it earlier, but, Hyouka is a Japanese word; it means "frozen dessert," but, in English, you'd call it "ice cream". But Sekitani Jun wasn't trying to write about ice cream. Instead, Hyouka meant I scream. The scream that no one wanted to listen to, the scream that he wanted other people to hear.

Well, I heard it, Crocker-san. And I want other people to hear it, too. ...And I'll make sure that what happened to my uncle doesn't happen to anyone else. Not if I can help it.

Investigation~

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OH NO, CUTE.....

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