dreaming in blue | niragi x oc

Maki isn't the first one back at the Beach, not that she's all too surprised. Taking the long route back and keeping her speed slower than usual, she's taken her time getting back. As she strolls into the annex, she heads for the desk. Yukimaru is sat behind it, looking like he belongs there. She finds she doesn't miss it, not really. As much as she liked to keep busy and keep order, it had been exhausting staying on top of it all. Part of her wonders if the other jobs have been taken over yet or if they've fallen to the wayside of Hatter's indifference.

A tired smile pulls to her face as she reaches the desk, holding out a card to Yukimaru. He smiles back at her, turning the card to face suit up.

"Two of spades, that's another new one tonight. We're getting really lucky," he says, surprised as he notes it down.

"Another new one? How many 'new ones' have you got?" she asks, curious.

He smiles a fraction wider, shoving a hand into the bag and pulling out an already-rubber-banded pair of cards.

"Ten of clubs and four of hearts," he says, "Those two newbies have been real useful, real quick. We should've tried to find them earlier, might be our lucky players."

"The newbies? Arisu and Usagi, you mean?"

Two of spades, ten of clubs, four of hearts. That takes their needed cards down to three, not counting the face cards. All they needed now was the six of spades, four of diamonds, and ten of hearts. Whatever that last one was, she wasn't looking forward to it. The five of hearts had been bad enough. She doesn't even want to imagine what a ten could be, let alone what a Jack, Queen or King of hearts game might be.

Shaking her head, she huffs out an impressed breath.

"Are they around? I'll admit I'm curious. First a seven of hearts, now these two? Loathe as I am to agree with Hatter, maybe these two are impressive."

"Out by the pool, I think."

She nods, then her gaze shifts towards another notebook, the one for the dead. A small frown pulls to her lips, her chest pangs. Yukimaru follows her gaze, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

"Maki?" he asks.

"Do you mind if I ..." she motions to the notebook.

"Hey, like I said, if you ever want to take your job back, I won't complain," he jokes, holding the notebook out to her, passing her the pen next. She laughs shortly, flipping the book open in her palm.

"You're doing just fine, Yuki," she replies.

Hovering the pen tip down to the next free space, she tidily notes down a new name. Sujikai Kiba. Now he'd be remembered with the rest of them who had been lost at the Beach. He deserved that much at least. She takes a short breath, her eyes running over the name. Closing the book, she passes it and the pen back to Yukimaru with a short nod of thanks.

She turns to leave, then pauses and looks back.

Before she can even asks, Yukimaru answers, "No, your brother's team isn't back yet, but I have heard from one of the other militants on his team. They're on their way."

She presses her lips in a line, partly embarrassed to be read so easily.

"Thank you," she replies simply, then turns to head out towards the pool party.

It's already in full swing as she makes her way outside. There's neon lights flashing and water splashing and people dancing. She's never frequented the parties, always sticking to herself and her little corner on the second floor. Rounding the pool, she casts her gaze around, looking for those two new faces. Her eyes soon finds them; sitting on a line of deck chairs, Arisu and Usagi are chatting with Kuina. Curiosity sparks in her chest. Did they know each other? Or was this just Kuina's friendly nature coming out?