And what's left is...

[bluesofpeace.livejournal.com]

[Kaz is feeling a bit "down," one might say. There's a bit less of a bounce in his step, a more serious air surrounding him. He stands in the library, a heavy, dusty, worn leather-bound reference book in his hand. He turns the pages with care, gaze wholly focused through dark lenses on the pages before him.]

[At a glance, he looks to be pretty normal. He shouldn't even seem depressed, really. A better word to describe him is probably "subdued." Something... something is different, something is missing.]

[Go ahead and talk to him. See for yourself.]


((Due to a room effect, Kaz has accidentally his whole overactive libido for three days! This post is NOT getting locked, so help me. :I /shakes fist))

Comments

[fancy-shooting.livejournal.com]

[Considering what Kaz was listening to on tape last time Ocelot saw him in a libary, Ocelot can guess what's in those pages. Or so he thinks.]

Wouldn't it be easier to read with the sunglasses off?

[Ocelot leans his shoulder against a bookshelf, watching Kaz from a few feet away.]

[bluesofpeace.livejournal.com]

[Hey, those stains weren't made by him for once, okay?]

Hm? I can read it like this just fine.

[He raises his gaze to Adam once he's finished the sentence he was on. He leaves a finger pointed to the next word so he doesn't lose his place.]

What's going on?

[fancy-shooting.livejournal.com]

I thought I'd see where you disappeared to. I figured it was either here or with that other Liquid.

[Once a stalker, always a stalker.]

[bluesofpeace.livejournal.com]

I haven't been gone that long, have I?

[Turning his wrist, Kaz takes a look at his watch and finds out he's been in the library by himself for several hours. He lost track of time.]

No, I haven't seen him in a while. Did you need me for something?

[fancy-shooting.livejournal.com]

Do I have to need something? [Ocelot looks at him suspiciously, then strides closer, and plucks those sunglasses off of Kaz's face.]

If you're doing research because you're onto something, you know you're not supposed to keep me in the dark about it.

[bluesofpeace.livejournal.com]

I guess not, but-- HEY!

[Kaz will be snatching those sunglasses back. :I]

And I won't.

[He hands Ocelot a folded slip of paper from his breast pocket.]

Books on this place are extremely hard to find. None of them are personal accounts and they're all published by a company that I haven't been able to dig up any sort of information on. At first I thought it was a typo, but if it is, it's awfully consistent. Any databases I've looked into show no trace of the company ever having existed.

But perhaps you could figure this out.

[fancy-shooting.livejournal.com]

Information control is no surprise here. You're better off talking to the locals... maybe someone out there has been here long enough to know a thing or two.

[He slips it into one of the long jacket pockets at his hip.]

How much longer are you going to be here?

[bluesofpeace.livejournal.com]

So many people have grown complacent-- they stop asking questions the longer they've been here. It feels like a trap. We need to be careful not to fall in ourselves.

[Kaz looks over at the bookshelf as if assessing how many books he has left to go.]

Not much longer. Why?

[no-philanthropy.livejournal.com]

[Oh, there's the fellow otaku he's been looking for!]

H-Hey, Kaz! What are you reading?

[bluesofpeace.livejournal.com]

[Hey, just because he liked Tezuka...]

Hm? Ah, hey there.

[Kaz studies the page for another second before closing it.]

Just doing a little pleasure reading. There's a great deal of knowledge stored in these books, as I'm sure you know.

[This is not entirely the truth. Kaz is looking into the inner working of the Nexus, but this is information he swore he would share with Ocelot first and until he does, he won't be saying much on it to other people.]

[no-philanthropy.livejournal.com]

[Just wait...]

Pleasure reading? [Hal smiles a little, recalling his last conversation with Liquid] Funny you should mention that...

I was wondering i-if you would like to watch some anime with me. T-To see how it's evolved over the years.

[bluesofpeace.livejournal.com]

Why's that?

[Kaz raises his eyebrow a little then looks a bit more surprised at the engineer.]

Sounds interesting. Sure.

[He closes the book and starts slipping it back on the shelf before he pauses.]

... Tell me, will Liquid be there?

[no-philanthropy.livejournal.com]

Oh, nothing really. Only that Liquid reads romance novels.

[Hal grins, then looks a little puzzled at Kaz's question.]

He might be; we share an apartment, after all. [Concerned] Is that a problem? I could grab my PS3 and we could watch them somewhere else if you'd rather.

[bluesofpeace.livejournal.com]

D8 SWEET JESUS.

No, it's fine. I just figured he wouldn't understand it the way we might. You know how he is.

[Kaz doesn't really like having to lie to this seemingly good man who he's just getting to know, but he doesn't think he can afford to tell the truth right now. Thinking about Liquid has become uncomfortable suddenly and he's not certain what to make of it.]

[no-philanthropy.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't understand...?

[Hal still looks confused, but shrugs anyway. Kaz's words sound odd and almost dismissive, but surely that's just Hal hearing things that aren't there.]

He's watched a few things, but he does tend to heckle plot holes.

[He gestures toward the door] What interests you more; giant robots, fantasy, or slice-of-life?

[bluesofpeace.livejournal.com]

He wants nothing less than the best. I don't blame him.

[He follows Hal and thinks the question over quickly, glad for the distraction from thinking about Liquid.]

Giant robots, definitely.

[comp-kunoichi.livejournal.com]

Oh! Hello, Master Miller.

[Emma wasn't sure if this was the one she had chocolate fondue with, but she most certainly didn't forget that face.]

[There were a few books in her arms, the topmost being an Isaac Asimov novel.]

[whyamisobritish.livejournal.com]

[Liquid wants to see if he can sneak up on him.]

[He gets as close as he can before saying] You're not normally the studious type.

[bluesofpeace.livejournal.com]

[Sneaking mission = success. Kaz gasps and quickly turns to face Liquid, greeting him with an expression that seems... conflicted?]

Actually, I am.

[Kaz sounds a bit insulted and his sentence carries an air of "shows how much you know about me."]

[whyamisobritish.livejournal.com]

[that is not normally the way Kaz reacts to having Liquid near him.]

Is that so? I always thought you were more a man of action.

[bluesofpeace.livejournal.com]

I am when there's a battle to fight.

[He sighs very softly and closes his book.]

Did you come here for some reading material yourself?

[whyamisobritish.livejournal.com]

There was something Hal was talking about...never mind.

[bluesofpeace.livejournal.com]

A manga volume?

[Admittedly, this brings a bit of a smile to Kaz's lips.]

[whyamisobritish.livejournal.com]

Ah...yes. Something about terrible families and the Chinese zodiac...but what were you looking for?

[SUBJECT CHANGE IS GO]

[bluesofpeace.livejournal.com]

Wha-- well, okay, then.

[Manga sure did get weird in the last forty years.]

Looking for information, an edge, a way to understand this place. I've definitely been staring at dusty books for too long, though.

[He rubs at his eye beneath his aviators.]