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[epitaffio]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, PURPLEPIPER. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 541.26.365.77 *** PURPLEPIPER has joined 541.26.365.77 <PURPLEPIPER> Am I doing this right? <PURPLEPIPER> Pretty weird to just leave a message like this is an answering machine or something <PURPLEPIPER> ME leaving a message I mean! <PURPLEPIPER> You can leave one if you want and I'll just get back to you whenever I can.

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[epitaffio]

[Doppio pauses with a bit of jerky halfway out of his mouth.]

You were serious about that? Oma being a gang boss, I mean?

[He's also not sure what he needs to talk about, because everything is Fine, but that's beside the point right now. Hopefully it will continue to be beside the point for a while.]

[diffidentive]

[No, Doppio, everything is most certainly not Fine with you!!]

[The shade gives an uncertain little laugh.]

He doesn't exactly look like one, does he? But yes, I was completely serious about that. And it's something he himself would tell you in a heartbeat...he's not exactly shy about it.

[Kokichi falls into the "loud and proud" category of crime bosses.]

[epitaffio]

Seriously? How old even is he?

[Because he looks, like... 12.]

[diffidentive]

[Like you have any room to talk, Doppio.]

He's eighteen.

[epitaffio]

[But Doppio's not a crime boss!!]

Oh. Wow... Okay. [Well, he guesses he knows what it's like to be older than you look, but...] That's still really young for a head honcho.

[diffidentive]

I guess you could say that prodigies can show up in any field?

[The shade gives a feeble sort of chuckle.]

It's not really my place to share details beyond that. While Oma-kun isn't shy about telling people about his position or the fact that he's a criminal...he keeps the actual details of his organization under very tight wraps.

[If he trusts you enough, he'll tell you the truth. And Shuichi doesn't want to betray that trust...especially since he technically found out through a source other than Kokichi himself.]

[epitaffio]

Right... I get that. Secrecy is a key part of being a successful leader, isn't it?

[After all, why else would the Boss have valued it so much?]

[diffidentive]

Mmm... [The shade's eyes crinkle up a little bit in a thoughtful sort of frown.] I think it's more important to know when and what to be secretive about. If you're too secretive, you open yourself up for just as many failures as you do if you're too open.

[He taps through his chin thoughtfully.]

But...that's just based solely on my own observations...I'm more of a follower than a leader.

[So what does he know?]

[epitaffio]

Yeah... Me too.

[Ugh, this is just reminding him of that conversation at the party now. ... Wait.]

Is Oma recruiting? Is that why he had those weird questions set up?

[diffidentive]

Um... [You know...that's a very good question. And between Shuichi's lack of an immediate answer and the way his eyes return to their usual round state, it's obvious that the shade actually doesn't know the answer.] I'm...not sure?

Like I said at the party, it's hard to know whether or not he's serious or joking when he asks people to join his organization. But I don't think those questions were meant to be recruitment tools? He probably just thought they were funny, especially given who the party was for...

[Three career heroes and all.]

[epitaffio]

... Weird sense of humor he's got.

[And by weird he means BAD, because maybe if Doppio hadn't read that question out loud he wouldn't be having this conversation right now and...

Oh, who is he kidding? Shuichi already had it practically figured out by then, didn't he?]

[diffidentive]

[That gets an actual, genuine laugh out of the detective. A short one, sure, but even a short one is a fairly rare sound.]

I can't argue with that...he really does.

[epitaffio]

[Doppio really doesn't think it's all that funny. Sourpuss.]

So... That's it, right? That's... what you deduced? [If that's the case, hey! Maybe it could have been worse.] Wait, you're not going to tell Oma, are you?

[Because the conversation being less painful than he feared it might be doesn't make it one he wants to repeat.]

[diffidentive]

Of course not. Like I said, your secret is safe with me.

[Again, the shade's eyes crinkle slightly upwards as though smiling.]

And...yes, that's it, really. Though...making sure that I didn't offend or anger you too much in that dreamworld was really the main reason for wanting to talk to you. I really mean it when I say I consider you a friend, and that encounter didn't...end on the best note.

[epitaffio]

[... A friend? Even though he knows he's a criminal?

Doppio isn't saying it out loud, but he can't help but wonder if Shuichi really understands what his old job entailed.]

Um... Don't worry. You didn't offend me or anything.

[Besides, isn't he the one who yelled at Shuichi? If anything, he should be the one worrying about this.]

[diffidentive]

[He may not know the exact specifics, but he can kind of guess. And organized crime is sort of a weird, grey area anyway. It's not good, no. Not in the slightest. But that doesn't necessarily mean that everyone who partakes in it is necessarily evil or really even that bad of a person.]

[And so far, Doppio hasn't given him any reason to believe he's a bad person. He's going to continue to base his judgments off of what he's seen, rather than the sort of job Doppio used to have.]

I'm relieved.