onzoushii
Perhaps he shouldn’t have been so forceful, but it’s too late now – for when Togami seeks answers, he’ll stop at nothing to get them. Her answers, thankfully, are satisfactory enough; to be honest he didn’t expect her to answer all of them, and what she did say only fed into his curiosity even more. “London? I’ve been there a few times – assuming it’s the same place you’re speaking of. I’m from Tokyo, myself.” Tactfully – surprisingly so – he omits that he doesn’t care much for the city; perhaps it’s his French heritage, but he much prefers Paris. “I’ve been spending most of my time in the library as well – but if you’re trying to learn more about Spirale, I’m afraid you won’t find anything. I’ve been searching for information about this place for weeks and have learned practically nothing.”
It’s a strange place. Quite the understatement, really; all he can do is nod, agreeing with her sentiment. Despite his barrage of questions and answers being more than a bit tactless, he does pick up on her melancholy; for a moment he hesitates, strangely enough – it’s not as though he’s really cared about someone’s feelings other than his own, save for a rare few – and is thankful when she brings up a question of her own. “This?” Raising an eyebrow, he holds up the book for a moment, then out to her so she can take a closer look; “Arsène Lupin, gentleman thief…as far as I know, he’s a complete work of fiction. However, in my brief time here so far, I’ve come to learn that what might be fiction in one world may be reality in another.”
Still, after saying that, he has to take a moment to process all this – for while what he says is true and he is coming to terms with the odd relationship between fiction and reality and multiple worlds…he can’t help but be excited to hear that one of his favorite fictional characters might be a real person somewhere. “You’re saying…you know him? How fascinating…perhaps we should sit down, so that you can tell me a bit more about him. And yourself, of course.” Again she has no choice in the matter; he’s already heading towards the tables. However, he pauses for a moment, looking back at her, the lightest of smirks – or no, was it smiles? – gracing his lips. “I’m Byakuya Togami. It’s nice to meet you, Cardia.”
He repeats the knowledge she’s come across so far - that is, the lack thereof existing in this world, about this world. She couldn’t lie that the news is saddening, but in a way it’s reassuring that she could cease her search, or at least not feel obliged to a constant stress over the matter. The young man’s gaze is confident as he speaks, and that alone gives her the confidence in herself - at least, in that she isn’t alone in the struggle.
His words are interesting - that fictional words are reality here, in some way, and that may even include her own. It’s a broad concept to understand, but Cardia will have to take time to digest this one.“Fictional, huh... Lupin is very real, at least he is to me. But, in a place like this, anything is possible, isn’t it...” Although, none of this changes her sentiment toward Spirale; on one hand, her poison seems far less potent than before, but on the other, she is still far away from anything she knows - a far more lonely feeling than any she’s known before. Putting on her best smile, she acknowledges his introduction. After all, this is the first person who has shared any useful information, let alone held a conversation with her. She follows him to one of the tables, likely to sit down with books in hands and furthering the discussion. “It’s nice to meet you, Togami. Thank you for telling me all this... It’s nice that it isn’t just me who can’t find out anything about Spirale.”
Part of her feels guilty, for this is only a chance meeting, and she’s taking up a stranger’s time - but in another way, she senses a kinship with him, as if they’re walking on the same trail with the same destination. While firm and fast, it’s clear that he is genuine as he speaks and shows interest in what she says, something rare to come across. Seated now at one of the tables, crystalline gaze glances at the novel titled after one of her companions once again. While he states he wants to learn more about her - and Lupin, naturally - she can’t help her own curiosity. “Is Lupin also famous in Tokyo? Um, I mean, fictionally. I’ve never heard of such a place, by where is it?” Her knowledge of the rest of the world outside Europe is limited, only learning of it and the geography, social customs, and history from Saint Germain - everything else is vast and void as far as she knows. Togami already has shown he’s well-read and knows many things of the real world, even if their idea of the ‘real world’ is not the exact same one.











