Mission: Question Lewis Rhodes

The doors of entry for the prison would swing wide open; a young girl of what seemed to be fourteen stepping inside away from the rain that poured down behind her. Folding her umbrella, the girl would calmly walk inside with her hands inside her pockets and look around the room. After a few seconds or so of this examination of her surroundings she'd look down at a watch secured safely on her wrist -- the numbers on it indicating that she had arrived at the opportune and intended time.

This girl, Azami Aihara, had business here. It wasn't anything serious, mind you... Well, at least not in the sense of it being an urgent or even relevant matter. To be exact she had come to see what she could learn about the recent cases going on in Azores; partially out of spite for a self-proclaimed detective and partially out of genuine curiosity. Recently she had learnt that the prime suspect of the recent cases, Lewis Rhodes, had been detained within this facility and had decided that the best way to ease this lingering desire to gain more insight into the subject matter was to simply question the man herself.

She knew of the proverbs and the warnings that people spewed out of their mouths everyday. "Curiosity killed the cat," people would often say. It was irrational to argue that Azami would actually lose her life in this scenario -- or even that she'd be faced with any negative repercussions from it. This was, after all, a prison. And like any place with that purpose it only fit that they'd have the proper security as well as the safety precautions to prevent any sort of further crime from being committed. Because of this her calm demeanor today was far from a mere facade. With no rational reason to fear her life being in danger she was ready to waltz right in and handle her affairs here...


There was no denying that Azami was a bit nervous but she certainly didn't let it show -- let alone would she let it drive her away from a chance like this. No. She was going to find out what happened or at the very least attempt to look into it this one time. And so she would walk forwards to the woman behind a counter -- the line oddly enough not that busy today. Then again, perhaps she shouldn't have suspected people of wanting to visit the man. They likely didn't know him and didn't have nearly the desire she had to look into such matters.

The sound of the officer's footsteps would ring out through the halls upon drawing close enough; Azami anticipating his arrival. He seemed to wish to know why he was here -- something she had forgotten to take into mind. She did need a reason to be here, yes, but she likely wouldn't be let in without such a thing. The important thing to note though was that not all reasons for visiting had to be related to family. There was plenty of room for... improvisation; and the girl's calm demeanor, ability to hide her emotions, and her capability of logical thought would work out perfectly in her favor within this scenario -- or at least that was her hypothesis.

"I'm with the Zela Academy School Press. I've been tasked with writing an editorial on the recent cases which is supposed to give further insight into the case and share the defendant's side of the story. If it's okay with Lewis I'd like to meet with him for such a purpose."

This was, of course, a gigantic lie. But it was a well-delivered lie. There wasn't a hint of nervousness, hesitation, nor fear on her face  or within her tone. Not only that but everything was perfectly plausible. Azami was clearly of age to be at the school, was wearing her school uniform, and delivered her "purpose for being here" perfectly. If her predictions were correct it would be sufficient enough to fool the officer. At the very least she was under the assumption that what mattered the most was the approval of the actual suspect -- not the personal feelings about the visit the man before her had. Then again, that begged the question of whether or not Lewis Rhodes himself would be willing to partake in her questions. That'd become clear soon enough though -- and all Azami could do about that was wait and see.

Strength -- Logical:

Well, perhaps kid was an incorrect term considering she herself was younger than him. None the less however she couldn't help but thinking of him as such -- despite his behavior not exactly being childish; although it certainly did get on her nerves. On the bright side it was a better thing to address him as than the more... technical and fitting terms she thought about him, at the very least. None the less though Azami would put on an obviously fake smile as though she was dealing with a toddler; turning around to Shun and bowing respectful before deciding to counter his points.

"My apologies but I don't think age has anything to do with my chance at this opportunity. Yes, wisdom naturally comes with experience but the keyword is experience. Just because someone is young does not mean they don't have superior or equal qualifications to their upperclassmen. Furthermore, would this not be a good experience for a freshmen? It would allow them to take the opportunity to get involved in the press and learn first-hand on the field if you will. As for the argument of vulnerability I can inform you, without a doubt in my mind, that I am far from vulnerable. You've never met me before and I can assure you that you know NOTHING about me whatsoever; whether it be my psychological status, my qualifications, or my preparations for such a task. If you wish to judge me that is your choice but I hate to inform you that your opinion matters not -- what matters is the perspective of society and, in this scenario, Zela Academy. And as for your blatant implications of me spreading gossip I must say that I am personally appalled that you, a random stranger, would feel that you're in the position to accuse me of something so heinous -- let alone that you would utilize your unfounded conspiracy theories against your fellow students as logical reasoning. Or are you perhaps arguing that keeping our fellow colleagues informed of developments in the legal system and their own town serves no purpose than mere gossip?"

"I'm sure that your concern is out of the kindness of your heart but please save it for another time or simply let me attend to my affairs. If you're truly so upset about my presence here then I simply would encourage you to take it up with my superiors. Arguing with me about it will hardly solve anything."

To be truthful, she had found his words to be a bit intimidating. He seemed to be capable of wording his arguments good at the very least and that was, at least in most circumstances, far more important than any sort of actual logic or excuse someone could provide. Azami wasn't going to simply tuck her tail between her legs just like that because someone insulted her or made a valid point. She wasn't leaving until it was guaranteed that she wasn't going to be capable of meeting with the culprit behind the case: her curiosity simply wouldn't allow it. Despite all this interference however she did have to silently applaud the boy on his capabilities -- though she wouldn't let this moment of praise show anywhere on her face.

The main problem here wasn't the man though. No... Azami rather found the main problem to be convincing the officer. He seemed skeptical of them both and the girl herself didn't have any sort of real connection to Lewis nor did she think she could pull off any sort of lie this time. Perhaps if she was sly enough though she could play her cards right in this scenario. It was a bit risky but if she pulled it off well enough she could transition from the subject of her personal relationship to Lewis casually, potentially eliminate the suspicion of the boy and her being either rivals or teammates, and maybe even guarantee herself some sort of assistance from him as well. While Azami knew not the boy next to her well enough to draw any sort of conclusions -- and from what she did know he didn't seem like the kind of person willing to assist her in any sort of way -- it did seem like there could be a potential benefit to an unspoken alliance if allowed to initiate. There might have been some disadvantages but it seemed like their chances were significantly lowered of getting in unless one of them could justify their reasoning for entering or something of the sort.

Did she expect the boy to aid her in getting in? Not really, to be honest. It wasn't certain if this would really bring any benefit to her and in that sense it was a bit of a gamble. However she couldn't simply avoid the question and it seemed like this was the clearest possible choice. There were several possible favorable outcomes if this thing was a success:

1: Her transition from the subject would cause the officer to drop or forget about it and thereby would get her closer to conducting a visit with Mr. Rhodes.

2: It would remove the suspicion of them working against each other but also that of working with each other. After all, Shun clearly argued against her entering and Azami had been more than willing to attempt to counter. At the same time though it'd seem less likely for them to be rivals as well considering how she had justified his visit, whereas a competitor would not try to aid their opponent.

3: The male would come to her aid out of gratitude with an excuse when and if she was questioned further about her relationship with Lewis Rhodes. (From what she had seen so far of his intentions this seemed unlikely -- though it was still plausible to some extent.)

4: Her attempts to work her way into visiting would fail but out of pity or thanks the kid would aid her in some way; such as slipping a bit of information he had learnt from it to her or providing some other benefit out of compensation.

Alternatively there were the negative outcomes. These all led to the same thing however and were already possible within this scenario. The officer could call her out on her lies, the boy could convince him not to let her in, or her lack of an excuse would result in her failure within the scenario. Considering how there didn't seem to be many options left it was better to simply take the gamble. And so, Azami would hand the officer her identification, deciding to take what seemed to be her last chance to gain some sort of benefit out of this predicament.

"With all due respect officer, I think it's plausible. I'm not aware of the teacher's condition personally but he could be ill, preoccupied with his work, or even simply unwilling to meet with his brother for personal reasons. Unless we know the teacher's circumstances for certain we can't really come to a conclusion."

Hopefully this bit of a gamble would pay-off to some degree.

It seemed that Shun wasn't going to be willing to cooperate -- such becoming clear from his jump right back onto the offensive. For a moment she could have sworn that he was about to attack her: although it'd be flat-out nonsensical for that to be the case. I mean, he was in the midst of a heavily guarded facility and he seemed to be competent enough to realize that. After all, who would be capable of holding their own in a debate yet would be idiotic enough to attack another within a scenario that surely would result in their detainment or death?

Upon the police officer walking away a sigh would escape from the mouth of the girl. Though it partially came out of relief it had a slight sense of nervousness to it. Honestly, it seemed more likely than not that she wouldn't be entering. But she couldn't determine that fully for herself. She didn't know Lewis Rhodes well-enough in the slightest to determine if he would let her in when she didn't have a personal connection with him. As for the boy? Well, she didn't know about him. He claimed to be visiting for a teacher but that could be a lie for all she knew. And furthermore that didn't mean anything unless the officer actually bothered to explain their purposes for coming here; although she doubted that he wouldn't do so. That didn't even guarantee an entry for him though. For all she knew Lewis could have hated his brother. It was impossible to tell without having known the man and really that just made thinking about it a matter of useless speculation with no rhyme or reason.

Her attention would remain affixed on her watch as she awaited the officer's rearrival with the verdict. Personally, she could care less about conversing with the boy. She wasn't a talkative sort in the first place -- let alone was she going to initiate idle chit-chat with a person trying to impede her progress; regardless of the reasons he had behind it.

Azami's heartbeat sped up, if only for a moment, as the final nail was put into the coffin.

It was unfortunate but none the less reasonable. Lewis, like most people, wouldn't just let anyone waltz in to meet up with him. But it didn't matter. Did she feel like shit? Sure. She couldn't let this eat her up though. As a rational individual she had to move on -- knowing her chances were slim of getting in right from the beginning. However there was still one bit of unfinished business present.

After giving a respectful bow to the officer she would turn around to walk out and leave Shun to his business. This wouldn't be before looking in the boy's direction though. He had from the start been trying to intervene with her ambition and though she recognized her disdain as foolish and unfounded considering she didn't know his reasons for attempting to stop her she couldn't help but feel a pulsating urge to punch him in the face growing inside her. However, that would be an idiotic choice considering the setting and perhaps a bit of an overreaction.

Instead, Azami would turn her head to him and give him a glare that said it all. Intimidating others, while not a weakness, was not a skill of hers either. None the less though she did her best to put as much hatred, loathing, and fiery rage within it as possible. On her face was a smile but in her eyes, if she truly had succeeded in this endeavor, would be the fires of hell -- burning right in Shun's direction; something the officer wouldn't notice from the direction of her head.

And with that she'd walk right out of the facility; leaving with nothing gained but also nothing lost. In the end, Aihara decided that was enough for her: even if the curiosity within her would remain unsated by this experience.