[Heart Game - Ed, Maya, Roxy]

[carptricks]

[It's dark. You're trying to move forward, but it feels like your limbs are weighed down by chains and shackles. Still, you push. You push and you pull and those chains are pulled taut and strained until suddenly--]

[Something snaps]

[You tumble forward, wind blowing past your face, until you lose awareness of anything around you. . .]

((another run ran concurrent to this one here))

Comments

[fuhrinkaed]

...So putting these hands in the tower will start the healing process on those wounds?

[Thinking for a moment.]

If that's the case, I don't care how stubborn he is. Shouldn't have asked for help if he didn't want it done.

[soulping]

[blinks a few times]

Ah-- not quite, no. The clocktower hands are quite thoroughly unrelated.

If you wish to assist him in that area, you're looking for another location entirely.

[fuhrinkaed]

Hmm...

I'll take care of this first, then, and head that way after.

What should I look for when it's that time?

[soulping]

[his smile is a bit sad]

If only receiving answers was that simple.

[fuhrinkaed]

Meaning you don't know, or you can't tell me? It's gotta be one or the other.

[soulping]

It does, doesn't it?

[a playful hum]

I wonder which it is.

[fuhrinkaed]

...Come on... can I get one straight answer? Please?

[soulping]

[almost apologetic]

Kaito-kun is not in the business of giving straight answers.

Or perhaps. . . I am not the part of him you should be asking for one.

[fuhrinkaed]

...Aha...

W-well, alright then. I guess I'll figure that out after I'm done with the clock tower.

Thanks for your time, it was great to meet you.

[soulping]

[Toichi takes another sweeping bow]

And you as well. For the second time, I believe.

[and he chuckles, because he hasn't forgotten you from last time, bro]

[fuhrinkaed]

...oh.

You. Remembered that.

[Awkward... laugh.]

Sorry... it's been a busy few months. You know how it is. [Or so Ed says while looking for exits.]

[soulping]

Of course. How could I forget? You all did Kaito-kun quite the favor back then.

[another smile]

[and the only exit is the door you entered through! it's still open]

[fuhrinkaed]

[Let's head back that way then, and get out of here to head for the clocktower.]

[soulping]

[You find yourself back at the front of the "casino" (now revealed to be one huge pointless obstacle course side trip orchestrated by KUROBA KAITO) to find everything as it was before. The drink shelf is back in place, obscuring the door to the obstacle course]

[There's an older man leaning over the pool table with a cue in hand, the tip hovering next to the cue ball. He certainly wasn't there earlier]

[fuhrinkaed]

[--!!]

Hey there! I... can't remember if we've met before, but I'm Ed. Nice to meet you.

[soulping]

[the old man straightens pretty suddenly. he seems to hold himself a bit awkwardly]

Ed-san. . .! Ah, no. We haven't met.

[he bows politely, too]

I am Konosuke Jii.

[fuhrinkaed]

It's nice to meet you.

Would you happen to be the person to ask for information about the surrounding areas? I need information.

[soulping]

[Jii looks taken aback for a moment]

S-surrounding areas? I don't know how much information I can give you, but. . .

[he trails off]

Young master does cause me to worry quite frequently.

[fuhrinkaed]

I can imagine... He's the sort to kind of be a daredevil.

But I'll listen to anything you can tell me.

[soulping]

[he nods. the motion is a bit stiff]

All right, Ed-san. What questions do you have for me?

[fuhrinkaed]

First off... [Holding out the clock hands.]

Do you know anything that may be standing between me and getting these where they go?

[soulping]

Ah. . .

[frowns]

I cannot say there is anything specific standing between you and where they must go, but I can inform you that there is no direct route to the clocktower.

[fuhrinkaed]

...Hm...

Is it on the other side of a path that involves emotional scars, then?

[soulping]

Not necessarily.

[he lowers the pool cue until it's resting on the edges of the table]

There are many ways to young master's heart-- the very core of who he is. You can reach it by going through a difficult area, yes. . .

But you may also reach it by finding that which he loves.

[fuhrinkaed]

So... Aoko or incredibly cool magical capers.

And the clocktower, then, is the core of who he is...

[Thinking...]

That makes sense, considering how it came up.