[center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/684ddb45-4fc1-4da4-89c5-42f0263bd666.png[/img][/center][right][sub]April 9th—Morning[/sub][/right][hr]
Fortunately, Nakano didn’t take poorly to Emi’s attempted apology - or, if she did, she didn’t say so. In fact, she didn’t say anything; Emi grew a little nervous that she’d said something wrong as Nakano seemed to walk away. She was only gone a moment, however, bringing news back with her that took Emi from nervous to furious. 

[color=salmon]"Some writing on the board has everyone's attention. It would seem someone thinks it's funny to accuse me of causing the disappearances as a power grab. That said, they're ill informed if they think my house is a place to look."[/color]

[color=E5C4CD][i]“Wha--!”[/i][/color] Emi was cut off by her own shock, gripping the edges of her desk. What on earth would possess someone to write something so foul?! And so ignorant at that! Nakano’s own brother was presumed dead, her own house a pile of ashes, and someone had the [i]nerve[/i] to say [i]she[/i] was to blame?! Emi sorely wished she could summon Euryphaessa outside of the mirror, if only to identify the culprit and knock some sense into them. Despite what Nakano said about a power grab, she doubted it was anyone on the student council; they’d all been fond of Hanami, they’d never besmirch her memory by leveling some garbage accusation at her successor. Good - it would save Emi the embarrassment of chewing out one of her fellow council members. 

Suzuki-sensei arrived before Emi had the chance to say more, and reluctantly she sank back into her seat, fuming. Nakano may have been willing to let the slight go, but Emi wasn’t nearly so forgiving. 

[hr]
The day passed fretfully for Emi. It was a good thing the material was mostly old news, because she wasn’t sure she caught even half of it, preoccupied as she was. Even hours later, that message on the board still bothered her. That it was probably some throwaway shitbaggery meant nothing to her; the flagrant disrespect to a girl who’d [i]lost her brother[/i] a mere five months ago was maddening enough to have Emi fidgeting in her seat, her mind always wandering back to that awful message no matter how hard she tried to redirect it. And that was another thing! Not only had whoever written that taken a totally unwarranted shot at Nakano (and all of Emi’s missing friends, as far as she was concerned) but now it had her so worked up that she couldn’t even focus on what actually mattered: figuring out what happened to them in the first place. 

By the time the bell rang for lunch, Emi all but tore out of the room, food forgotten as she hovered around the doorway in the hall. She didn’t bother asking Nakano - she would have mentioned it if she saw who wrote that message - but waited until someone else she recognized made their way out, stopping them with a gentle tug on their sleeve. 

[color=E5C4CD]“Miura-san, is that you?”[/color] she asked rhetorically, [color=E5C4CD]“Did you happen to see who wrote that awful message on the board this morning?”[/color] 

[color=gray]“Oh, uh…”[/color] Miura hummed, thinking a moment before snapping his fingers. [color=gray]“Oh yeah, duh, that’s that Ito chick that got into so much trouble last year. I think she landed someone in the hospital or something. Remember?”[/color] 

Emi tapped her finger to her cheek, thinking. [color=E5C4CD]“Ito… Maki?”[/color] she asked, [color=E5C4CD]“The one who used to do all that stuff with spray paint?”[/color] She wrinkled her nose in distaste. Obviously that sort of vandalism wasn’t much to her, but she did remember one time when the awful fumes of spray paint hung around the second-floor girls’ bathroom for weeks. [color=E5C4CD]“What’s her problem with Nakano-san?”[/color]

[color=gray]“Beats me. What’s her problem with anybody?”[/color] Miura asked back, sounding exasperated. [color=gray]“Anyway, I gotta go. It’s good to see you back, by the way,”[/color] he added sheepishly, [color=gray]“I’m, uh…”[/color] 

Emi held up a hand, offering Miura a smile. [color=E5C4CD]“Thank you,”[/color] she told him, releasing him from the no-doubt uncomfortable duty of stumbling condolences. Besides, if anyone deserved them, it was Nakano. [color=E5C4CD]“Enjoy your lunch.”[/color] 

[hr]
[i]Ito Maki.[/i] Emi couldn’t claim that she kept up with gossip [i]that[/i] much, especially after going dark for the past several months, but somehow gossip had a way of making its way to her and the name did ring a bell. General delinquent, hung out with a rough crowd, something about a boyfriend she was crazy over… it wasn’t much, and it was probably outdated, but it was enough for her to start differentiating her from the rest. So, she spent the duration of class after lunch flexing a muscle she hadn’t used in some time, actively probing out the room with… man, she needed a name for that funny extra sense Euryphaessa gave her. Whatever it was, it wasn’t nearly as strong here as it was in the mirror, but it was enough to start distinguishing between her classmates - like distinguishing different voices on a crappy radio. Not knowing Ito well combined with being out of practice made the process lengthy, but by the end of it she was fairly confident she’d pinpointed Ito to somewhere in the back of the class. At the very least, she’d get someone close enough to her to do the trick. 

She sighed sadly, feeling drained. In times like these she’d usually nudge Hanami or Makoto and jokingly ask if she was hot or cold. Of course, if they were still here, there’d be no reason to be looking. 

The end-of-day bell was a blessing, but this time Emi hung back, gathering what few things she had out - a recording device and a water bottle - and slowly packing them away as her classmates filed out. Predictably, the one she thought was Ito Maki stayed back as well, taking her own time. Probably wanting to avoid the crowds or something, if she was in the habit of stirring up shit. Then again, why cause a stir if you were just going to avoid the reaction? Seemed counterintuitive, but it didn’t matter; Emi didn’t have much energy left for deciphering the behaviour of delinquents. 

She stayed in her seat until only she and Ito remained, piping up as she felt the other girl walking past her desk towards the door. 

[color=E5C4CD]“Excuse me, could you help me please?”[/color] Emi asked innocently, flashing her folded cane for effect. She chuckled quietly, tucking a stray hair behind her ear in feigned embarrassment. [color=E5C4CD]“I just need a little help finding the student council room; I’d usually make my way myself, but these new renovations have me all turned around.”[/color] 

[hr][right][sub][@psych0pomp][/sub][/right]