[OPEN] Haibara adjusts

[deage]

Who: Haibara & OPEN
Where: Quiet Car, Medical Car, Triage Car, Library Car
When: From just before mission through end of the mission
What: Haibara puts off worrying by making herself busy
Warnings: nah

[ A: Before Mission - Quiet Car ]

Things were unraveling around Haibara. Secrets revealed from all sources, putting everybody in even further danger. But those unraveled threads of secrets and conspiracies were also coming back together, forming a tapestry of new norms and possibility. She was roomed with Mouri, she could mitigate the danger Ran was in while gaining another set of eyes and ears around her. Kudo knew that she had the antidote with her, but... no, honestly that part was bad, he was far too reckless with it. And then there was Masumi Sera, Haibara still didn't know what to make of her.

But the people around her were becoming more aware of and conscious of Haibara's role in the APTX-4869, and Haibara needed to think about how to continue work on the antidote. She couldn't hide from Vermouth forever, not and still pursue any sort of goal... and so she had braved the world outside her cabin.

She was back at the place she had tried to gain access to so long ago, when she had first arrived. A lab space created in the Quiet Car, by one Tony Stark. He had left the train some weeks ago, and so she figured the space would be open for all - assuming people hadn't simply taken the equipment from it. But what she didn't expect was...

"Why is this still locked?" Who would even manage a lab now?

Crud.

[ B: During mission - Medical & Triage Cars ]

Haibara had opted to stay behind again. But something nagged at her in the back of her mind, telling her to get up and stop being a burden, and she couldn't ignore it. In her mind, the best she could do now from the train was simply to make sure things were ready for those who came back.

And with her skills, that meant ensuring that the train was prepared to treat anybody who came back injured.

So she could be found in both the Medical and Triage Cars, organizing the medicines, ensuring the supplies were ready and sanitized properly, and in general doing a lot of things a seven-year-old shouldn't be doing.

Feel free to spot her and give her a talking to. Also if your character DOES come back injured, they might have to deal with the bedside manners of a little girl without manners.

[ C: After mission - Library ]

Haibara does make some trips out of her room. A girl still has to eat and shower, even if hiding for your life. But she might be growing more bold lately, even heading over to the Library Car to find some books to read. When she's sure there will be people around besides Vermouth.

Mostly, she seems to stick to mystery novels or non-fiction. The lengthy, boring kinds of non-fiction. It might deserve some comment...

Or it might just be a good place to run into her, if one is looking.

Comments

C

[tactlesstantei]

[It had taken Masumi some time to track down Haibara, not helped by the fact that the mission had kept her from looking for her at all. But now the mission is over and Masumi finally manages to track Haibara down to the library, giving her the chance to talk to her.]

Hey, I've been meaning to talk to you lately. You have time for that?

[deage]

[ Oh boy, the last of the people Haibara needed to Talk to.

Haibara places the book she was looking at down onto the nearest table. ]

I'm surprised it took you this long. Not that I made myself readily available, I suppose.

A....

[luckydragonsfoot]

"Hoh? Locked?"

Now...who's this guy? Maybe Conan's mentioned him. Maybe not. Katsuya however, is sure acting like he at least recognizes her, and that's Probably Not Great.

(Really, blame that island though- he probably doesn't even know for sure, he just knows better than to ask.)

"Huh...wonder 'f I could pick th' lock somehow..." Is it even a key lock?? He'd probably still say 'pick it' even if it wasn't to be fair, but how does this lab work anyway? "...Whatcha need in there anyway?"

[deage]

Kudo's mentioned some people - especially those in on his secret - but not with enough detail that Haibara can place a name to their faces.

"I wanted to have a look around. It's not worth breaking in over, especially when it might be picked clean." Or it might not be. It's hard to tell, since the windows are covered with thick curtains.

Haibara is eying up this guy who would casually suggest that to a little girl, though.

[luckydragonsfoot]

In his perhaps very poor defense:

He would 100% do that around a normal little girl. Truly, he's another Hattori.

Still, he tries peering in vain through the windows, seeing if he can't get a look through a crack in the curtain or something. "Yeah? Th' hell y' need in there, it was some kinda lab wasn' it? Stuff like tha' tends t' be better worked on in there righ'?"

He would also cuss in front of a normal little girl. Katsuya is perhaps not a great role model.

[deage]

"I need a lab," she answers frankly.

Haibara is TERRIBLE at pretending to be a normal kid.

"Do you always curse around children?" But not above pointing it out.

[luckydragonsfoot]

Ew he hates that- "Geeze, yer gonna be like tha'..? I mean y' ask me," Katsuya goes on with a frown, "Th' fact that y' recognize a curse tells me y' heard it somewhere else so..." He shrugs. "Jus' a word, ain't it?"

Also, he's learned to just not trust in the innocence of children. First Mokuba, then Noa, what next?? Maybe there really IS an evil six year old waiting to ruin the world back home.

"Turnin' this around, th' heck y' need a lab for, 'kid who has soft ears apparently'?"

[deage]

"I told Senku I'd help him with science stuff."

Honestly, bonding with Senku and being Gen's roommate was a stroke of luck, insofar as easy excuses went. It was easy to deflect suspicion and keep Kudo-kun uninvolved so long as that science freak was around.

[luckydragonsfoot]

"Oh tha' guy!" It is, indeed, a great excuse. "Yeah tha' sounds like somethin' he'd pull anyone int'..." He doesn't know the guy that well, but it sounds Right.

"Nyhh, doesn' fix this probl'm though. Anythin' you were figurin' you'd find?"

[deage]

"I heard the guy that used to run the lab was into all sorts of things. I was hoping for some equipment for chemistry, but I don't know if he even had that, or if it'd still be there." You know, to make drugs.

Normal kid stuff.

If you hang out with Senku. Thanks, Senku.

[luckydragonsfoot]

Hey, when you fight off an omnicidal ten year old in a computer...

"Huh. Well, short 'f breakin' th' lock, which I dunno 'f I should do given my train talk, that ain' happenin' here then. Guessin' it's stuff tha' has t' wait f'r platform day then..."

[tactlesstantei]

It hasn't been easy finding you. [But now that she has, she can finally get this done. Aside from dealing with Sharon Vermouth and her suspicions of course, but that's not something that can just be talked out.]

Some of what I need to talk about is stuff I don't want random people to overhear, so you want to go to a quiet room?

[Masumi still wants to keep her secrets, and taking the conversation to a quiet room is the best way to make sure those secrets don't get out to others.]

[deage]

[ Haibara mentally weighs the pros and cons. Because, to be perfectly honest, she doesn't trust Sera. Not when she doesn't know any of the details surrounding her.

She doesn't have a way of getting a message to Kudo, either, or to Ran.

Hm. Still, she needs answers. And depending on what they are, Sera might deserve some, too. ]

...All right.

[tactlesstantei]

Let's go, then.

[Masumi leads the way, thinking about how to start this conversation. She's not as familiar with Haibara as she is with Ran or Shinichi, so she's not quite sure how to approach this beyond just jumping into it.

Much like her earlier conversation with Ran, Masumi picks a random quiet room and gives Haibara a chance to sit down before actually saying anything about what she knows or wants to know.]

[deage]

[ Haibara... elects to stand near the door. She doubts she could do much if Sera was actually hostile, but it was her best shot of escaping if she needed to.

Of course, she is also aware that Masumi is likely to realize this. ]

Start with how much you already know, and how.

[ And... to the point. Haibara is trying to take control of the conversation early. ]

[deage]

"I'll figure out another way in." Haibara, that's not something you say. Or admit to.

"Thanks anyway...." She pauses, giving him an opening to introduce himself.

[tactlesstantei]

[Masumi’s taken off guard by this, but doesn’t comment on it and instead just does as asked.]

I already know about Conan being Shinichi, and knew for a while. I already talked to him about it after the faire, too. You, I’m not as sure about, but I think you’re in a similar situation.

As for how I found out any of this, someone poisoned my mom with what I assume is the same poison, so I’ve been trying to get help for her.

[deage]

[ That answer draws a swift and precise... rebuke. ]

That's impossible. Every victim has been confirmed deceased.

[tactlesstantei]

It’s true. Someone poisoned her shortly before I moved back to Japan. She’s been trying to get an antidote to go back to normal.

[She’s a bit annoyed at being doubted, but to be fair it’s a big claim.]

...Wait, how do you know about every victim being confirmed dead?

[Did no one tell Masumi about Haibara’s involvement? No one told her.]

[deage]

[ Of course no one told her, that's Haibara's secret to tell. For once, KUDO. Which, thankfully, she is, more or less.

Still, she has one hand on the door, ready to open it and get out if needed. ]

Obviously, I've seen the report.

The Organization is thorough, they don't simply assume somebody is deceased without seeing the body. Kudo's house was staked out for months until I marked him as deceased.

[luckydragonsfoot]

"A way in tha' ain't th' door, on a train?" he remarks with a raised brow. But, alright, power to her? "I mean, good luck I guess, but it ain't like we have vents tha' big..."

Oh right names. "Oh- Jonouchi Katsuya. ...Jus' Jonouchi's good."

[deage]

Another way past the door, anyway. She has enough chemicals to perform a--

Wait, hold on a second.

"Edogawa-kun's mentioned you before."

[tactlesstantei]

...You worked for them.

[Masumi’s not sure how to react. On one hand, she hadn’t exactly expected this. But on the other hand, she apparently got them to think Shinichi was dead. And would Shinichi trust Haibara if she still worked for them?

Still, she’s playing it cautious, wanting more details about her past.]

If you worked for them, then what happened? I assume you left, if Shinichi trusts you?

[She is of course, assuming he knows.]

[deage]

I see. If it was shortly before you came back to Japan, then it could have been after I left the Organization. [ It's the only thing that makes sense. The Organization is, if nothing else, meticulous when it comes to something that could reveal any information about them. That includes ensuring nobody survives to talk, and that there are no pills unaccounted for that could fall into the hands of an intelligence or police agency. ]

Apoptoxin 4869. The skeleton, muscles, organs - everything aside the nervous system - reverts to a childlike state. That's what your mother took. [ Queen of not answering the actual questions asked - Haibara. ]

[luckydragonsfoot]

"Conan?" Oh!

"Oh! ...Tha' explains it then! Y' seemed weirdly familiar, but in tha' passin' way where you pass someone on th' street, y'know? We got linked up on that island," Katsuya explains, shrugging. "Stuck w'th dream shares an' such... ...I'd say I've seen worse but..."

....wait right, this is probably a Real kid even if mature. There's probably a line he needs to watch. "Aaaaah, well, ain't your problem so..."

He has no idea how much her problem it Is.