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I would say that it's illegal to charge and hold citizens with no form of warrant, but I doubt that's a matter our captors care about much.

[Eiji gives a small, charming grin as he speaks. It's a light joke, of course. Really, all of this is a joke. Eiji will admit that, of the abductions he has been subjected to so far, this is perhaps the most immediately pleasant. Mobius was perhaps more modern and had more to it, but Mobius also decided it would be wise to try and wipe his mind and all he was away. Eiji can accept, and even find charming, the more 'rustic' scenery of this place if the trade off is that he gets to keep his mind.

Don't even get him started on Hell. That little detour can be pushed aside for now. Back there, he would have kept all communication that he could to text. The less he let the lot there see him, or that he had to see them, the better. This place looks like it might be cut of a different cloth, at least.]

Please, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Biwasaka Eiji. It is a pleasure to meet you all.

[He gives a small bow as he introduces himself. He is a gentleman. He will do what he can to present and be a gentleman whenever possible.]

Back home, I'm a lawyer. I specialize in defense. If any of you are interested in one when 'sentencing' begins, please. I'd be happy to help you with your case.

[He gives a playful wink as he speaks.]

Still though...even if it's meant to hold us, and we've been accused of crimes, I don't think this place is meant to punish us. I wonder. What do you think?

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It's true.

[Eiji admits that with a sigh.]

It's true that my reputation would be soiled among a great majority of people.

[Eiji could point out how his success with such a case, however, could open him up to a whole new group of clientele. After all, there are several among the rich and powerful who are monstrous in their morals. Unfortunately, that doesn't really answer the question of his stained reputation. And that stain does matter a great deal to Eiji.]

It's quite a paradox, isn't it? Great wealth or one's reputation. The former is very tempting, but the latter does matter more.

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[That's only natural. One's reputation is everything in life, ultimately. Eiji said it himself: innocence and guilt are heavily presumptive. If the people have a reason to find you distasteful, then you're already guilty.

A lawyer who wins against all odds is talented and brilliant if he's liked, but he's only corrupt and dirty if he isn't. There are some who may be foolish enough to think that that doesn't make a difference to them, but Eiji is smarter to know better.

Besides. Eiji loves the admiration and praise of the masses, doesn't he? It's an area where he and Ritsu differ.]

For someone as skilled as you, I'm sure obtaining wealth by other means would be an easy matter.

[Perhaps that was the true tragedy of Biwasaka Eiji. He never needed to dip his hands in something as risky as embezzlement to begin with.

Ritsu gets it, though; it was more about the power, wasn't it? That feeling that came from exploiting the law so thoroughly.]

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[Ritsu, as always, knows Eiji too well. It’s true. He never needed to risk the chance that came with embezzlement to find his fortune. He could have accumulated wealth through far more legal, albeit it slower, means.

It was a show of power. A display of his intellect, and his knowledge of the law. He didn’t do it because it was the only way he could have. He did it because he could. To show he had the ability to.]

It’s true. I don’t think such theoretical, desperate ways would be needed here, do you, Ritsu?

Say, Ritsu. I wonder.

What do you think of our fellow cell mates so far?

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[What does he think? Truthfully, he thinks they're fucking weird. It bothers him, the Pollyanna-esque behavior some of them have been exhibiting. He isn't sure yet what to make of it — whether they're people in denial, trying desperately to believe that their situation isn't so bad as if it'll become true simply if they will it to be true; whether they're actors concealing something far nastier; or whether they're simply stupid.

What bothers him even more is how eager everyone seems to be to get to know him better. It isn't right, he thinks. He doesn't trust it for a second, and when he contemplates on certain interactions, he can feel his skin crawling.

Unpleasant. That's what it is. That they should be so friendly, so pleasant... Ironically, it's the very thing that makes them unpleasant.

But he can't just say that.]

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They're much friendlier than I expected.

[It's an innocuous statement. Complimentary, surely, to anyone else listening.

Eiji can read between the lines. He knows Ritsu too well to take his words at face value.]

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[Eiji keeps a smile on his face as they talk. Oh yes. He can read between the lines here.]

Yet again, they’re drawn to your magnetic personality. Am I right, Ritsu?

[Moths to flame would be more apt, perhaps. Eiji has never met a man who could do gain the attention of other people the sane way Ritsu can. Who, without seemingly any effort, could draw people near and get them to divulge their secrets.

Eiji found that deeply impressive. In his own heart, deeper still, he even found himself a bit envious. For all of Eiji’s gentlemanly charm, even he could not charm as greatly as Ritsu.]

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Well... I wonder.

[Is it something to be envious of? It comes with its drawbacks, Eiji. Sometimes, he feels like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, a gaggle of unwanted pests perpetually latched onto him.]

How about you, Eiji? What do you think of them so far?

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[Eiji closes his eyes and tilts his head a bit at the question, thinking.]

It’s hard to say.

[And it is. Eiji, while skeptical of most of humanity, doesn’t possess the level of disdain Ritsu feels towards them. Still, most people let him down. At the same time, this lot does seem like an improvement over Mobius, and definitely over Hell.]

But I will say, like you, I think they’re interesting. They’re a curious lot on their own, and proactive so far.

[And being proactive counts for a lot.]