Shibuya

[Bloodedge]

One by one, Seiji filled in the sudoku without so much as a hiccup in his execution. This puzzle was interestingly simple, yet with underlying complexity. All in all, he could call it a decent attempt, but he would not rate it very high on a personal scale he kept in his mind. As for her plan, he didn't really care one way or another. Of course, that wouldn't keep him from the commentary. "Ashikaga Kimiko, maintaining any amount of ambiguity... is an oxymoron, isn't it?" he joked. For her to say such a thing, was legitimately laughable. That face, that personality, that identity of hers, could never blend into a crowd no matter where she went in Shibuya. In fact, she could probably go halfway across the country and be recognized by the most random pedestrians.

"Besides... something tells me that unless you're trying to have this 'gamer's sudoku' solved, the person you would be looking for wouldn't just be found in this room when it's crowded. There aren't any gamers here. You'll most likely get the stereotypes─ fanny packs, pocket protectors, retainers and all that jazz. That is... unless you had a reason to believe I would be here," he stated as a glare boasting no ill-intend whatsoever was sent in the lass' direction. With that, the puzzle was complete, and slid across the table toward Kimiko. Now was time to address business. Ashikaga Kimiko didn't need to come here for the sake of having a puzzle solved, nor could any member of the club have been someone she had reason to look for. What she needed, then, was a link... and he had an idea what it might have been to. "So? What's the question you're not asking? Sorry to say, but this puzzle isn't good enough for you to have brought it as a challenge. I'd give it a 1.7 out of... that." At this final word, Seiji nodded his head in the direction of the club's prized puzzle: the impossible box kept in a glass case to his left. "Awesome game to base a sudoku on, though. Two points for creativity, so I'll listen. Call it a good mood based on nostalgia."

[Apollymi]

"Well, hiding in plain sight is a thing. An acquired skill..." she said her words were oddly sarcastic, but still truthful. A bit of a joke in her own way. The girl knew she was very recognizable, because of this, she was well aware of the sort of attention she would draw if she entered a room full of nerdy boys. She was a school idol after all, and if she wasn't at least a little aware of the effect that she had on people who were attracted to her, she couldn't have lived a normal school life. 'At this point I might as well change my name to Eira Gremory...' she mused. Though that wasn't really the truth. Unlike the leading female of that particular series, Kimiko couldn't bring herself to gather anyone around herself she considered a friend. At school she maintained a safe and cordial distance from everyone. No one to get upset with her or anyone else. Hell, she wasn't even a member of a single club, which is why she chose lunch as a time to invade. He finished the puzzle she'd given him, with about the amount of wit she'd expected from the one she was looking for. Even so, there was something off about his thought process.

There was a glare in Kimiko's direction, but she never backed down from that sort of thing. The smile on her face, shifted just a tad cracking her normal facade to become something more of a smirk. Still not the smile of happiness she presented to the lad she knew as the Geno Killer, but a bit more like the ones she showed people who sat across the table from her during business negotiations. This was still an exchange, and he'd given her more information so she'd give a little more in return. "I wasn't looking for you at first, I did need information though..." she said with the same tone and cadence she'd had this entire time. Her hands were clasped in her lap as she thought over the processes. He was slowly ruling himself out, though his follow up question was enough to make her hesitate. "Oh? Well, it's a strange question... I wouldn't ask it without knowing about the base knowledge of the person I was talking to... it would have given too much away for too little in return. I am on my own kind of clock after all..." she mentioned, though she still didn't ask the question. No there were more pressing things to observe as he compared the puzzle she gave him to another one, in a manner she wasn't used to hearing such things. This boy was definitely not the one she sought, she could be about 90 percent certain of that now. Ah, that was a bit disappointing, but also very exciting. What she was looking for was still out there. And something about that was still a bit exciting. Maybe she was a glutton for punishment, waiting was torture, but chasing solving puzzles, using all of her brain power to try and find something she well and truly wanted. That was an entirely new sensation for the lass. "I didn't make that puzzle, the game did, though it was originally generated for me. Also you were right, I didn't need help with it, I finished it a long time ago to complete an aspect of my build... it is a great game though. I also didn't actually ask for help either... I did call it a peace offering, after all. It was meant to let me blend in while I fished for information about you... so I could figure out how you were connected, Miura Seiji." she stated in a very business-like manner. This boy's talk of points being awarded would have made her think twice, caused a hiccup in her mind's processes, but he pointed out the other puzzle and just seeing it made Kimiko's heart skip a beat. Still she couldn't let go of what she'd put together in her brain just now so she spoke of it obviously. "What, a 3.5 minimum on your scaling for something to be worth your time.... who ever made that must be really interesting to you then." she mentioned. In that moment she chose her question and it was unrelated to her earlier inquiry. "Have you solved it?"

[Bloodedge]

"Depends on your build, doesn't it? We are talking about games here," Seiji said in the most nonchalant manner possible. Now that he was done with the sudoku, he slid over a blank piece of paper which he proceeded to scribble on. It seemed he was creating a new sudoku on the spot. He organized a 50x50 version of the puzzle, which he would have rated about a 4.0 on his scale. "Here. Call it a stepping stone," he said while sliding the new sudoku across the table.

It seemed Kimiko had no intention of revealing her true question without enough information beforehand. That didn't matter much; Seiji was simply staving off boredom. Now that the lass mentioned, it was true that she'd never asked for help with that puzzle. He was quite used to the others who approached with the sole intention of wanting a puzzle solved. "Hm. I guess you didn't. Since you didn't, have that one on me. It's a more fun challenge than what a video game'll throw at ya'." Kimiko's eyes were drawn to the puzzle he'd pointed out in a strange way, which brought his attention to it as well. This was the puzzle which determined the scale; nothing which scored too low in comparison was worth his time at all. Every puzzle he took of his own desire, was one which could get him even a step closer to that monster of a puzzle. When asked if he'd solved it, he could only shake his head. "That thing's the only reason I even came back. As far as puzzles are concerned, it's not even something anyone has been able to comprehend. It looks like a D10, or just a 3D jigsaw... but it also looks like a dovetail. It's got a lot more going on inside than that, though, so it gets counted as one of those impossible boxes. Everyone else wants in because it's the only way to get the person who made it into the club. No clue why they'd bother recruiting someone they could never compare to; they'd never see any action that way."

[Apollymi]

Kimiko watched as this lad created a new puzzle after finishing the one she'd brought. He called it a stepping stone and she looked at it with a raised brow for just a second. 50 by 50 was a bit extreme, that was quite a few numbers in combinations to keep straight. Still, it wouldn't be quite so bad, in fact her mind had already started working. 'Something about this is markedly easier than doing that other one, while having low base mana, after already using way too much and being scared half to death by a ghost~' she thought to herself. A wicked smile spread across her face in the moment. A hint at her true nature and more over a face she normally only presented to those who challenged her. "I have a lot on my plate already you know? But it's not like I can do anything but accept something offered so freely. I suppose I can add this to my to-do list~" she mused in the snarky manner of the personality most didn't see. That hidden clever part of her, which was normally masked behind her popularity, the part that made her dangerous in the business world. Her inverted pattern of thinking had her remove all but one kind of symbol and after picking up the pen, beginning to fill in the missing information block by block. There was no obvious rhyme or reason to how she did this, it wouldn't seem to make much sense as her pen movements went across the board in a spiraling order. Moving from the outside inward only to go back outside. If one cared to notice, she was filling in the symbols starting with the ones most present and spiraling the other ones in by process of elimination. Each minor pause was her filling in the details as her mind processed them. Much like how she used math to solve Rubic Cubes, she was using the processing power of her brain to fill in this large array of symbols.

She looked up when he began talking about that puzzle box if only for a second. If she needed more confirmation about him not being the lad she sought, it was all in the information of that headshake. "Sou ka, that was the information I needed..." she said softly. "Arigatou gouzaimasu~" Knowing that there was a puzzle he couldn't solve, meant that he didn't think like the Geno Killer thus he couldn't be that man. 'Oh, just wait... I'm really close now~' she mused. Her mind still working on that puzzle. While she was around the halfway point at this time, hearing what the lad had to say about the nature of that puzzle gave her a hint of her own nostalgia. "Hoh? That sounds pretty interesting. I do enjoy impossible things... I'm kind of doing something impossible right now," she mentioned, it having nothing to do with the Sudoku puzzle she was finishing and everything to do with finding out the identity of the Geno Killer. She'd come to understand a lot about that boy since meeting him. And knew they shared many of their views about people. "Maybe because they want him in the club, they don't care what that would mean for them. Most wouldn't care if they just wanted to use him. Of course, if you can solve it though... that means you could compare, so you wouldn't need him, right? I've heard puzzles say a lot about their makers~" her eyes flickered up with intensity as she took a sip of her coffee. She continued writing. She'd finish the puzzle before her and when it was done she'd sit her pen down and return her hands back to her lap. "I'd like to do that puzzle, and I'd like you to tell me who made it." She said, the name of the person who made that puzzle was what she needed, and if she was right about his personality there was likely something inside. He didn't put himself out there like that... so he likely wouldn't have agreed to anything outright, but... he made exceptions. She was such an exception in the other world and she knew how she'd attained that special status.

[Bloodedge]

"That's the ticket. Have fun~" he said when Kimiko accepted the sudoku. Seiji leaned against the table, chin rested atop his hand while observing her work. An open ear was kept all the while, but the majority of his focus seemed to be on her puzzle-solving technique. Kimiko utilized a very queer method, and yet everything she entered was accurate without question. Interesting. "You call that information?" asked Seiji. It wasn't that he wondered why she sought the person who designed that impossible puzzle, but rather why she didn't have more to go on than what he'd already mentioned. She spoke of doing something impossible at present. "Obviously it's not that," he said in reference to the ongoing sudoku. "That's the biggest part of it all. Getting that guy on your side is... well, literally as hard as the puzzle. . ."

There was more, but not at all in a good way. Seiji was also of a mind that carrying the entire team was a worthless endeavor, and it was exactly why he could appreciate the box's creator. In fact, what Kimiko had to say after her summary was something very... very familiar. "So you've actually had a conversation with him before?" he questioned, assuming the phrase 'puzzles say a lot about their makers' was one with Aiba Yugi at its core. Kimiko completed his sudoku, wanting to try her hand at the impossible puzzle... and wanting Seiji to reveal the identity of its creator. So, maybe she hadn't met that boy. "Guess not." Sadly, this was the part that was not quite good. He could allow her to try the puzzle in question, but there was no way he could speak the name of its creator. In fact, that was one of the conditions for it being allowed in the club. "No can do, Ashikaga," he said while turning to unlock the glass box containing the puzzle. "If you don't know who made it, I can't tell you. Guy doesn't like being pestered about stuff. But... I guess there's a loophole. Apparently, there's some weird thing about how the puzzle is how he can be reached. Don't ask; I've got no idea what it means. But! Whenever someone solves this thing here, they alone have permission to reach out... however that's supposed to work. I'm guessing the secret's inside the thing."

[Apollymi]

"Information is like branches Miura-kun. If it's a dead end, we clip and back track until we find the right one~" she mentioned which shed only the tiniest bit of light on part of her mental process. Planning was necessary and more so than that, was finding the right information in a sea of knowledge. Knowing something alone did you no good if you had no use for it. But every bit of information you could get on a person, business, or game would help you tease apart its inner workings. This lad apparently had exactly the knowledge she sought without being the person she was after, she'd entertained that possibility all along and knowing she was right she held a triumphant light in her eyes. She'd finished his puzzle and knew he'd been watching her the entire time.

"I guess that would have been a step too easy. No shortcuts... that's fine though~" she chimed. She watched as the lad unlocked the case which held the puzzle and she looked on with the eyes of an excited child. Her goal was so close to her now she could hardly contain her feelings. He told her a few more things about the puzzle, claiming he couldn't explain anything extra about it, she couldn't help but giggle. She understood already, after all... she'd already completed a puzzle he'd created. "I understand. He's a pretty complex person. And to answer your earlier question I've had several conversations with him... so I figured he wouldn't make it something as easy as finding the right person. It's no problem..." she held her hands ready to accept this puzzle and begin the crazy process of solving one of things in her original body. 'He's waiting for me. Hand it over!' Her mind screamed as she tried to remain serene. Too bad for this lad, Kimiko wasn't made of patience anymore. She could see the light at the end of a very dark tunnel and she fully intended to reach it.

Today was going to be a glorious day! She sat back with this puzzle in her hands. Studying the outside with sharp eyes. Each turn she heard rolling inside so her concentration increased to include that as well. "Sou ka... this would seem pretty impossible... " she mumbled as she turned it more and more. Within seconds she'd mapped the entire outside and understood the reference to 'dovetails' made by the lad earlier. What was more the segments which made it up were also numerous. There was much nostalgic happiness in her, as she remembered sitting around in Atlantis with the white haired lad's head in her lap as she talked herself through the first complicated puzzle she'd completed. 'I guess this isn't so bad either. There's no magic, no locks. no buttons or movable pieces to keep track of, actually....' she looked up at the lad across from her in this moment and she understood why the lad known to her as the Geno Killer wasn't at all interested in this group. She could pull this puzzle apart in her own way. She kept turning it more and more as she received all necessary information from the audio cues within. To solve a puzzle like this one needed to think beyond what was normal. One needed the ability to see a problem and attack it in pieces and as a whole simultaneously. Something like that was apparently not as normal as Kimiko might have assumed it was. She'd solved the first puzzle she'd done by mapping it like a Rubix Cube. That kind of logic could be applied to three dimensional puzzles in general as long as you knew what all went into them. But this puzzle wasn't about simply what was on the outside, it was about what was on the inside. Instead of mapping all the groves outside, she was forced instead to map the inside she couldn't see and figure out how many of whatever was inside needed to be at the end. 'EASY!~' she chimed mentally. There was nothing but the light of victory in those eyes of hers, the smile on her face neared that demonic ecstasy she was known to show those she destroyed. This was actually going to be fun.

[Bloodedge]

"Well, congratulations. That's the most prolific thing I've heard from another person in... days? Weeks? Who knows?" the lad replied. It seemed Kimiko had no real issue with not being able to know the puzzle designer's name, and in fact, she'd shared words with him multiple times. What seemed strange, was the excitement clearly radiating from the raven-haired girl when she took the puzzle from its case. For one who didn't seem the type to have an interest in puzzles, she was certainly holding a high level of interest in this one. She agreed that it seemed impossible, but the young man who designed it would never create something that couldn't be solved. There was a way; could this girl be the one to discover it after knowing Aiba Yugi? Seiji would surely be perturbed if so, but... that would also give him another target to strive for.

"You're not seeming like someone who doesn't belong in this club right now," he said casually, simply offering his observation of Kimiko in the moment. She wasn't truly one suited to the club, but this very moment was reminiscent of the one who created that puzzle. "Guy must have left a pretty big influence on you then, huh? You're sitting here looking like someone just gave you a present instead of a thing that's pissed off almost everyone who's touched it. That's the kind of thing he'd do."

[Apollymi]

Apparently Seiji thought the words Kimiko shared were prolific. She didn't find them so, but they were also her own words. Still, her personality the real one was leaking through as she began the processing the puzzle, and she couldn't help the rather snarky reply she had in mind. "If that works for you... you should probably hang out with some different people~" she mentioned. Though given this lad's personality she expected he didn't interact with very many people at all. She kept an ear open to the lad, but the rest of her was all for this puzzle. Her replies meant very little to her and since they came without thought they were unfiltered. She was too busy completing this puzzle to hide who she was. "Iie, I don't belong in any club. I wouldn't ever, I don't like carrying people either..." she mentioned with finality. Though she had no idea what she looked like in the moment.

She turned the puzzle in her hand hearing the first of the ball bearings within roll towards the other side. She continued to turn it, until it hit the far side. Then she tapped the entire puzzle's outside to move it along to the next path it should take. She turned it again... Following it around through her mind's map. Her eyes closed as she did this, making it easier for her to imagine the pathways she was taking. "I know... he's pretty excitable about stuff like this. I am also excitable but it's a bit different for me... and it is a gift~" she mused. He couldn't know what she meant, but this was likely one of the biggest presents she could receive. She'd get to know who he was, and with that knowledge would come one of the greatest bits of satisfaction she'd ever achieved. She'd have the prize she wanted more than any other... and that was well worth going through any puzzle for. She kept moving that one ball, having to tap it one more time to set it on the last path it had before it stopped moving. Her eyes widened. 'Sou ka... there is a space in the middle for all of the ball bearings,' she thought after achieving this small victory with the first one. Her eyes sprang open as she looked once more at the outside. 'Intervals of three... because of the sides... so are there three, six, nine or twelve?' she questioned herself. 'It took three paths... so three would be too few and 12 is too many potential variations for something this size. Six or Nine then,' she summarized within her own mind. She tapped near one of the segments and heard another ball roll free... 'Each segment is two of the total so Definitely six. I have to get six of these down three paths each towards the middle.' there was a knowing light in her eyes in that moment as she condensed her own thoughts down a great deal. She followed that sound in her mind and began turning the puzzle again. Several taps and a quiet bit of relief as each ball found its home towards the middle. She counted them, she mapped their movements. It was truly much easier than it'd been the first time. Like opening her puzzle the second or third or even the tenth time when she started to use just her telepathy. 'Sou ka, you're really just like this... you want people to understand you. Not use you... but know you. I get that, you're probably the only other person that truly understands that...' the girl thought happily. She'd all but forgotten the lad sitting across from her in these moments. She'd forgotten about school... she didn't care. All that mattered was finishing this puzzle and then it happened. The last ball fell into the middle and she sat it down before her.

"Oh shit!!" was her excited utterance as she felt the shift. This puzzle was now in her lap. What was she to do. It was here now. It was hers... she could have him. She felt relieved and frightened. She wanted this but didn't expect it to happen so fast. She needed to open this, but she also needed to pull herself down before she had a panic attack.

[Bloodedge]

Hang out with different people, she said. It was almost ironic to hear such a thing from one who sought a boy like Aiba Yugi. Seiji laughed. "Did you plan on telling him that when you got hold of him? This is like some weird situation of pot, kettle, and frying pan," he said. Apparently, Kimiko sympathized with the idea of not 'carrying' others such as those who were found in clubs like this one. He, too, could commiserate. Seiji initially quit this club because he was tired of being the go-to person for puzzles too difficult for the others, while they remained content to be stagnant in their ability. That Aiba Yugi was different; he had the patience to improve those who sought it for themselves, and somehow reach a consensus that benefited everyone involved. Could that have something to do with Ashikaga Kimiko? Perhaps.

Either way, there was a puzzle being worked on, and Seiji watched intently. This girl had long since given up on him; he could see that clearly in her face. As such, he remained silent while she approached the puzzle in a very interesting way. Multiple movements, multiple taps. It was interesting to watch, though the progress of such a puzzle was nigh impossible to tell from an outside perspective... and even from most solvers' perspectives. Alas, the level of excitement growing in Kimiko was far too familiar. As he watched, he felt as if she could actually solve the thing. That feeling was right. In one shining moment, Kimiko lowered the puzzle into her lap. Her excited utterance initially seemed like one of failure, but that wasn't at all what it was. Her expression indicated satisfaction, and... something else he couldn't quite pin. Mostly though, Seiji himself was surprised by the idea that she may have solved the puzzle.

"You..." he said with slight hesitation. Surely she couldn't have, right? Was there truly someone else, in this school even, who could have been his goal? If so, he was a bit disturbed that it had to be such a random and unexpected person. Still... he may soon be rather excited. "Well? If you've solved it, open it. Whatever's inside is apparently yours, and yours alone."

[Apollymi]

Seiji laughed when Kimiko mentioned that he should hang out with other people. He asked a question which she understood the purpose of but she couldn't rightly answer. Well, she could but the answer likely wouldn't be well received. "Similar people know the truth of each other. To be honest though, I don't really care if he doesn't talk to anyone else, as long as he talks to me~" was her reply. What a strange girl she happened to be. The different aspects of that lad's personality were quite right, she really was greedy. She was fine having all of his attention, and with that out of the way she'd sunk so deeply into the puzzle she didn't even register the other person in the room with her.

So, imagine her surprise when he spoke to her directly after realizing she'd succeeded in opening the puzzle. "So, I really forgot you were here," she said with a slight blush crossing her face. She wasn't used to falling so far into her own mind when there was someone else present. Especially when that person wasn't already familiar with her habits. "Hai hai, I'm going to open it... I know what's inside belongs to me," she said. Though it wasn't simply what was in the box it was everything beyond that. The entirety of the young lad she was looking for. Strangely she took an entire two sections off the puzzle sitting it on the table, and looked down. And found something most unexpected. A single scrap of paper and written upon it was the standard number of digits for a phone number, local. "Sou ka that doesn't really answer my question at all though..." the girl murmured. Still, she wasn't without ways of finding otu the rest of what she sought. She pulled her phone from her pocket and sent a message.

I need you to screen this phone number for me. Quickly. Was the message she sent to her favorite Systems Administrator. She was basically using the lass like a hacker, but given her background she knew this was her preference. Few personal interactions. Given notes, and then back to her computer like nothing happened. Kimiko remained quiet while she waited for the answer and it took a few moments. When she got it her eyes widened. This is the number for the landline of the former Prime Minster.

Kimiko blinked several times that couldn't be right. It'd been quite some time since a number like that should have been active. She'd met that man at least once, she knew her father didn't like him. Beyond all of that, she was quite sure he'd been executed for crimes following the information provided by... his own son. 'FUCK!' She stared at her phone screen a few seconds longer and asked her next question. How dangerous. A number that belonged to a dead man shouldn't still work, but if it did... she could probably have her answer sooner rather than later. Is it still active? That was all. So simple. Yet so loaded. Was she really about to find the lad she was looking for? Was she really about to have what she wanted? Hai. No one's called it in ages, but it is definitely still active. Kimiko's heart was beating out of her chest. She knew who the son of the Prime Minister was, she'd met him once when she was very small. She hadn't known what his face looked like, because well, he was always wearing a mask. But that didn't mean she wasn't casually aware of who he was, a wicked smile broke out across her face. 'He's mine.'