[ there's quite a long pause before mink answers. he looks and sounds a little groggy when he responds, rubbing the back of his neck as though he's just woken up. ]
when he hears the reply, akira rolls over on the bed from lying on his back, having been staring at the ceiling for god knows how long (probably after he kicked some shit around his apartment). he doesn't look any more impressed, but his anger seems to have simmered down some.
he glares at mink for a doubtful moment, before sitting up on the bed, clutching the device, and giving a reply. ]
[ that gets another silence on his end, but this one's sharper, a colder, sterner feeling. he looks at akira with a sudden wakefulness, the hand rubbing at his neck coming to a slow stop.
aoba's missing.
he clicks his tongue against the rough of his mouth, exhaling with a low rumbling sound of irritation. ]
... Try contacting Koujaku, Noiz or that gas mask. It's nothing to do with me.
[ except even they wouldn't have a reason to abscond with him, and as far as he knows, aoba would have no reason to comply. they're all soft; they wouldn't take him anywhere unless he was completely willing.
he looks at akira, his soft storm-grey eyes under a fall of ragged hair. it's longer than it was when he last saw him, it seems. it's surprising to see him braving video at all, after what happened to him. ]
I don't see what his absence has to do with you, either. I don't care if you want the legwork, but there'll be no gratification in it. You're not going to see him.
[ after a moment, he props the phone up on the side and moves to take his pipe off the bedside table, stuffing it with that strange herbal tobacco of his.
in any case, he can deal with akira's trespasses later. better to stay on target and clean up when the trouble's dealt with. ]
[ akira's mouth tightens into a thin line. he only knows koujaku, the others are complete strangers to him. but if aoba is missing, koujaku is probably just as lost as he is as to his whereabouts.
his grip tightens even more around the device at those words about not seeing aoba. maybe it's better that way, for both of their sakes, but right now aoba is probably the closest thing he has to a friend in this place and like hell he's going to let mink take that away from him. ]
He hasn't been to work for about as long. I assumed it was his cycle. [ should've gone to his house... he frowns irritably. he was aware of it for this long, and it didn't occur to him to think of it as entirely suspicious...
from the start, he should've been hunting him. an entire week is a long time for a person to remain gone; in that time, all manner of things could be done. ]
... As for seeing him, no. Not until you give me the answers I want. If you can't explain why you're around him, that makes you my problem.
[ it's that simple. akira might be an unworthy, weak dog, but even he's got fighting experience. he's not about to trust someone just because they seem too pathetic to be a threat. nobody deserves that kind of trust. ]
How many times can you say no before you realise it's not an answer.
[ the double meaning is entirely obvious.
mink leans his weight on his thigh, leaning forward. he pulls the pipe from his mouth with his other hand, exhaling a thick plume of smoke. ]
He's been gone since the 18th. His work absence lines up with that. Nobody from his world knows where he is, either.
... Koujaku and I will be searching the area around his house where he was last seen, and questioning his neighbours. Make yourself useful, if you're that worried about it.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
video;
... What are you talking about.
video;
when he hears the reply, akira rolls over on the bed from lying on his back, having been staring at the ceiling for god knows how long (probably after he kicked some shit around his apartment). he doesn't look any more impressed, but his anger seems to have simmered down some.
he glares at mink for a doubtful moment, before sitting up on the bed, clutching the device, and giving a reply. ]
Aoba. I can't get in contact with him.
video;
aoba's missing.
he clicks his tongue against the rough of his mouth, exhaling with a low rumbling sound of irritation. ]
... Try contacting Koujaku, Noiz or that gas mask. It's nothing to do with me.
[ except even they wouldn't have a reason to abscond with him, and as far as he knows, aoba would have no reason to comply. they're all soft; they wouldn't take him anywhere unless he was completely willing.
he looks at akira, his soft storm-grey eyes under a fall of ragged hair. it's longer than it was when he last saw him, it seems. it's surprising to see him braving video at all, after what happened to him. ]
I don't see what his absence has to do with you, either. I don't care if you want the legwork, but there'll be no gratification in it. You're not going to see him.
video;
in any case, he can deal with akira's trespasses later. better to stay on target and clean up when the trouble's dealt with. ]
How long has he been missing.
video;
his grip tightens even more around the device at those words about not seeing aoba. maybe it's better that way, for both of their sakes, but right now aoba is probably the closest thing he has to a friend in this place and like hell he's going to let mink take that away from him. ]
You're going to stop me?
video;
[ he's not entirely sure. he has been keeping to himself lately, in all honesty. the last time he saw aoba was during the murders.
but it's been at least several days since he did try to contact the other with no answer. ]
video;
from the start, he should've been hunting him. an entire week is a long time for a person to remain gone; in that time, all manner of things could be done. ]
... As for seeing him, no. Not until you give me the answers I want. If you can't explain why you're around him, that makes you my problem.
[ it's that simple. akira might be an unworthy, weak dog, but even he's got fighting experience. he's not about to trust someone just because they seem too pathetic to be a threat. nobody deserves that kind of trust. ]
video;
[ that's concerning. he glances away from the device a moment, before looking back to it, clearly annoyed. ]
I'm not telling you anything.
video;
[ the double meaning is entirely obvious.
mink leans his weight on his thigh, leaning forward. he pulls the pipe from his mouth with his other hand, exhaling a thick plume of smoke. ]
He's been gone since the 18th. His work absence lines up with that. Nobody from his world knows where he is, either.
... Koujaku and I will be searching the area around his house where he was last seen, and questioning his neighbours. Make yourself useful, if you're that worried about it.
video;
[
JUST THROWS THE DEVICE ACROSS THE ROOM AT THAT.okay, fine, he's going to ignore that for more important things right now, like finding aoba. ]
...I will.
video;
[ there's a moment when, seeing how akira stares at him, mink looks away from the camera. ]
Take the East. I'll arrange the rest of us.
... I'm sure you know how to look for a body as well as a missing person. We won't strike off anything.
[ and he ends it there. ]