dreaming in blue | niragi x oc

By afternoon, a few hours after they broke for lunch, Maki is back in her office. Yukimaru's notes from last night are laid out on her desk and one of her own notebooks opened up in front of her. She neatly copies his work down into her own records. Her eyes flick continuously towards the safe, wondering what she'll find inside - or, worse, what she won't. From her quick look while putting away their cards that morning, nothing seemed missing, but she couldn't be sure until she re-counted. Her thumb prods at her ring.

There's a knock at her door, then Ann strolls a few steps into the room, her dark sunglasses propped on her head. Maki sits up straighter and turns her gaze towards her, watching as Ann loosely crosses her arms.

"Hatter is calling a meeting," Ann says plainly.

Maki sighs, frustrated, setting her pen into the middle of her notebook as a temporary bookmark as she flips the book closed. She folds her hands on top of it, twisting and fixing one of her rings back into place.

"About what?" she monotones.

"Who knows when it comes to him. I'll see you over there," Ann replies, then turns to leave before pausing, glancing back Maki's way. Her gaze softens slightly, "I'm glad to see you back safe."

Before Maki can reply, Ann continues on her way out, her steps fading away as she walks down the corridor to the conference room. A small smile grows to Maki's face, touched by the kind sentiment. With another short sigh, she pulls a different notebook out of her desk drawer, a pen from her cup, and stands up, rounding her desk.

Stepping into the hallway, she closes her office door behind her, then heads down to the conference room. She walks in and lets her gaze travel around the room, finding that Hatter, Mira, Kuzuryu, and Ann are already sitting and waiting. Three of those are unsurprising, but Hatter is. He's usually the last to arrive, even to meetings he calls himself. Taking her seat beside Mira, she wordlessly sets her notebook onto the table.

She can feel Hatter's eyes on her.

"Maki. You're back," he says, leaning back in his seat.

Her gaze flicks to him, her expression held emotionless.

"Did you think I wouldn't be?" she asks.

Hatter shifts, mindlessly moving a half-empty glass around the table.

"Your brother was worried."

"And you weren't?"

"Seems like I didn't need to be." His gaze turns to her again, "What cards did you bring back?"

She bristles slightly, an indiscernible tension across her shoulders and down her arms to her intertwined hands. Her jaw works subtly, her teeth grinding. He's asking about cards before even asking if she's okay? Asking about what had happened or why she hadn't come back last night? She doesn't know why she's surprised and breathes out through her nose, stretching her fingers over her knuckles.

"Five of hearts."

He hums shortly, running his fingertip around the lip of the glass, "Not even a new card."

A snapped retort dies on her lips as the door opens and Morizono walks in, followed by Niragi and Last Boss. She clicks her mouth shut and swallows the words, working her tongue around the inside of the cage of her teeth. As he moves to sit next to her, between her and Hatter, Morizono's hand briefly touches her shoulder. On the other side of Mira, Niragi sits down, setting his rifle on the table. Maki's eyes flick towards him, watching how he shuffles to get comfortable, knowing his long legs are kicked out under the table, into the space where Last Boss stands and doesn't sit.