The Missing Piece Theorem

[Adelaide McLisk]

Add had again returned to Cool Beans, despite finding the name absolutely ludicrous. True, she had had an awkward experience when she'd first come here, locking up and all that, but those happened quite rarely, even at coffee shops. The coffee shop was always entertaining for her because of the various people that came in, each bringing in their probabilities. Plus, people didn't seem to think that you needed to talk to anyone else. It was like a library, only with less books, more foot traffic, and delicious drinks at hand. Because while Add might have a decidedly "meh" attitude toward most of the living world, she had a much more upbeat attitude toward coffee and delicious drinks in general.

She had just gotten her drink and was moving around when something caught her eye. Her head turned and saw that, strangely enough, someone had cleared off most of a section of a table. Cool Beans was fairly laid back as these establishments went, so it was hardly surprising that they'd allow something like this. Still, it was intriguing to see all the pieces lined up. Especially as it went straight to Add's power. She practically saw where the pieces went just by looking.

So before she even realized who was doing the puzzle solving, Add leaned over and pointed, "That piece goes there," she said, moving her hand to indicate it. As she did her leaning, she looked over, only slightly surprised to see the same young man who had helped her last time she was here: Seiji. Add blinked, sitting up a little more. "I didn't realize you enjoyed puzzles," she said, looking at the pieces laid out. She couldn't help but want to solve it; it was practically a compulsion. And she looked to him. "Did you require aid? It looks like you certainly could use some."

and no, Add didn't think that rude at all.

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji had a free day. Free day meant he didn’t have any classes and that there was not pressing work for him at the academy. So how did he like to spend true free days? Well there were many things that the twenty-four year old enjoyed doing, puzzles was one of them. He tended to do them back at home but Ghost was shedding and like all snakes, even he got grumpy as he would move around the room, rubbing against things to help get his shedding skin to come free. So Seiji took his puzzle and Leevi out with him to the Cool Beans coffee shop in order to get his puzzle fix. Puzzles with five hundred pieces or less where easy to put together, so he tended to buy the one thousand piece ones or higher and work on putting them together.

He had himself a Vanilla Macchiato, being a very big fan of the vanilla blends of coffee in particular. This was a new flavor to the menu, steamed milk with vanilla-flavored syrup, a shoe of espresso, and with a little vanilla drizzle. He had already taken a few sips of it and had it setting on the window seal since his puzzle was almost taking up the whole table. It was a nice one thousand puzzle set of a white tiger. He had the entire border done, a few pieces in, and some bits that were going to end up in the middle. He had all the pieces laid out and now the task of finding them and placing them in the right places. He had already been at it for at least fifteen hour and yes he had progress, but he still had a long way to go. Don’t even think about it. Seiji sent the thought to his snake Leevi who had tried to sneak and get a taste of Seiji's drink. Leevi having a habit of putting his head in places it should not go, all for the sake of curiosity.

Seiji had been so distracted that he didn’t even notice the woman come closer; putting out where a piece should go. Seiji obeying to humor the woman, but it turned out that she was right. He found he should not have been surprised when he looked up to the owner of the voice. Adelaide McLisk, fellow college student, attended the academy, a year older then him. Yes he had done his research since last meeting her. Was not that hard with the whole lottery scandal that she pulled off. He did not admit it back in their first awkward meeting, but he admired her. In other words, Seiji had a high level of admiration for this woman on so many levels, most of them intellectual. "Thank you and I do. They are great for stimulating the mind when you want to pass the time but not waste brain cells." Seiji said with a friendly smile to Add. Then he blinked at her quick comment from asking if he needed help to practically stating that he needed it, which still made him smile, because she was right. Plus he wanted to see her talent. That beautifully intelligent mind go to work at solving the puzzle.

"If you would be so kind I would greatly appreciate some aid." Seiji said formal and polite as ever, gesturing with his hand to the open seat. She would have to move it closer in order to be right at the table in order to work on the puzzle, but he figured she would not have a problem with that. Leevi meanwhile was already hiding in Seiji's jacket, but curious to see this woman as well who was talking to his master.

[Adelaide McLisk]

It was Seiji, so he likely had some snakes on hand, which Add supposed she should have considered odd. Then again, there was always a probability that somebody had a snake living somewhere on their person, if one of those low ones. Seiji simply embodied the chance of that probability becoming a possibility, which only added further to the intrigue that Add felt in regards to him.

"I agree," she said, referencing his assertion regarding puzzles, "though I usually engage in people watching, as puzzles are less... puzzling," and if she sounded distracted it was with good reason. Whenever she looked at the puzzle, her brain started roaring with probabilities. Each piece had a chance of hooking up with another, and the longer Add looked at the whole, the better she understood the puzzle. She knew that if she stared long enough, depending on the number of pieces, she could put a puzzle together like this in near record time. Hence why, while she may find them intriguing, Add did not regularly engage in puzzle-building on her own time.

Without breaking contact with the puzzle, Add took the offered open seat. She dragged it over to be within range of the puzzle, but resolved to keep her hands otherwise in her lap for the time being. "I must admit to having a near compulsion to complete the whole puzzle," she confessed. She reached for a piece and, without waiting for permission, snapped it into place next. "I shall endeavor to restrain myself so that you might achieve some enjoyment from the task as well. Perhaps we should engage in conversation to further distract, though that may distract you as well," Add frowned, not certain if her proposed solution was a viable one. She hated not having an immediate, viable solution at hand.

[Seiji Lockard]

Leevi had wanted to take a peek and get a good look at Adelaide since he had not met this other woman the his other snake buddy had told him about. Yet he was smart, he had to wait until both her and Seiji were distracted. That way he could peek out and not startle Add or receiving a scolding from Seiji. He wanted to take in this woman’s scent and poke at her with his head. He was a very 'hands on' snake, but since he didn’t have hands he used his head. So for now he lie in wait while Seiji was busy trying to be social with the other human. "People watching is very enjoyable, so many ways someone’s can react to a situation. It makes it difficult to try and guess what they might do unless you know them very well." Seiji said, having a feeling that was why she liked to people watch, because she didn’t know what they would do or maybe it was something else; he was just making a guess.

"Puzzles are more of a self-challenge." Seiji admitted since he was no pro at putting puzzles together. He was better with human bodies, medications, side-effects, and the like. Seiji watched Add closely as she seemed to still be focused on the puzzle itself, even managing to grab a chair and make herself comfortable with eyes still locked on it. "If you like you can go ahead and complete it all. I would really like to watch and see how fast you complete it if that is okay." Seiji said as Add had already put a puzzle in a place, which enabled him to add another puzzle to the one that she had just put down. Must have been luck the one he was holding in his hand connected to hers. He gave a soft chuckle as he took another sip from his coffee, looking over the laid out piece and picking up two before putting them in their place, taking his time with the second, wanting Add to just take over.

"You do not have to. I would enjoy it either way if I was not specifically working on it. I like to be around people and I'm pretty good at multitasking. Will you be alright putting it together if I were to be talking to you the whole time? Or would that cause a distraction?" Seiji asked speaking a little faster as his brain started to kick into gear. Picking up another piece and holding it out for Add to take. Trying to temp her all the more. "I have even more complex puzzles to put together; sadly they are too big for a little coffee house meeting." Seiji added after a moment, wondering if Add would be up for going back to his place to try and put together an even larger puzzle.

[Adelaide McLisk]

Add nodded absently as Seiji guessed more or less why she preferred people watching. They were far more interesting than puzzles any day of the week, that much was quite certain. She figured that Seiji guessed it because he, too, was intelligent and knew of Add's abilities and proclivities. She did have to agree to the idea of a self-challenge though, again nodding in a sort of absent fashion.

Add finally paused and forced her gaze back to Seiji, mostly as he suggested that she complete his puzzle for him. She blinked, clearly not getting the appeal. "I do not think that it would be nearly as interesting if I completed the puzzle for you. Surely this would not test your mental faculties to the fullest or be nearly as engaging as if you participated." she paused, studying Seiji's face for reactions. He seemed quite pleased to just be snapping in puzzles, and looked almost lackadaisical about the whole thing. He expressed that she did not have to hold herself back, also mentioning that he wouldn't mind talking with her. This last actually surprised Add: usually people wanted to run away from her as quickly as possible (she'd once gotten a mutant with super speed to literally sprint away from her as fast as possible).

"I suppose if you wished, I could put your puzzle together for you," she said, glancing at the problem, err, puzzle on the table. Each little bit added up to a new equation or problem for her. "Your talking at me wouldn't distract me overmuch either; I am quite good at compartmentalizing," and she couldn't help but grab another piece, snap it in place, and then force her attention back on Seiji. She thought she saw something shifting in his shirt, but she just dismissed it out of hand. It was probably just a snake or something.

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji was intelligent, but nowhere near the level that Add was, had he known that for sure. He was smart when it came to animals, DNA, and side-effects. Numbers were not really his strong place and he was not genius who could put a puzzle together in a record amount of time. No, that seemed to be an area more suited for Add and that was why he wanted her to put the puzzle together. He wanted to get a glimpse at how her mind worked when it was doing something. He could already tell she was pretty smart from the way she spoke and from what he already knew about her. He did have a lot of admiration for the woman after all, ever since he heard about the whole lottery event he wanted to meet her. So when he had met her in a pretty awkward meeting it was most likely his nerves that got the better of him in their first interaction.

"I would find it very interesting. As you said before, people-watching is far more interesting than some puzzle. Watching you complete a puzzle would be entertaining and I would get to understand how your mind works a little better." Seiji said still keeping his friendly smile as he looked at her, hoping that he explained that well enough. He was still slightly nervous. Would it be weird if I asked her for her autograph? Seiji thought to himself as he was kind of considering it, maybe play it off as a way for her to sign the puzzle when she completed it. Then he hang it up. Not because Add had been the one to complete it but because he always hung up the larger puzzles after having them completed. Sure he might frame this one and store it for safe keeping or hang it up in a different part of his room, but it was not to be creepy or anything. More of something of a goal, to be able to put a puzzle together like Add could. If he could get her to put it together.

"I would appreciate it if you would and would also enjoy talking to you while you completed it." Seiji pointed out, picking up his coffee and completing it now, considering getting another. "Good to know. Do you mind if I ask you about yourself?" Seiji asked, purely just curious to learn more about her, but he was like that with everyone one. Information about fellow mutants was even more interesting to him and since he had such admiration for Add the desire to know more about her was great. However, he had to ask her permission, right? Normally he would just spurt off into asking questions now that she seemed comfy but he had been working on getting better at not pushing to making buttons or boundaries.

[Adelaide McLisk]

People-watching was interesting; Seiji certainly had a point there. Add couldn't even find any logical reason to argue against his assertions on that particular front. She simply nodded her acceptance of his suggestion. It also made sense that he would be interested in her mind; Add's mind was rather fascinating on the whole. She couldn't really study herself, beyond a few self-observations that she managed from time to time, but she figured that she would make a most excellent person to observe for others, particularly others as intelligent as Seiji.

He made his offer; Add nodded her acceptance of it, turning back to the puzzle. She took a deep breath, staring at the pieces, her mind instantly going through the math. She had to sweep her gaze over the pieces while it worked, selecting various ones and organizing them, only mentally for now though; Add hadn't begun moving her hands again yet. If she was going to do this by herself, she would do it her way.

As promised, Add did leave enough of her brainpower free to hear Seiji's comment. She leaned her body back slightly to acknowledge that she heard him. She had to pause and think about what to say, as she always did, before nodding. "I suppose I can talk about myself. I do not know if that would be of that much interest to you. my mind is fascinating; my life is rather mundane," save for the whole winning the lottery thing. Add leaned forward and began moving pieces. She didn't just pick them up and seem to test though; she literally picked a piece up and moved it into position, snapping it down without the slightest bit of hesitation. She would only pause after a few dozen pieces, holding one while examining the pile as a whole yet again.

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji settled still, getting comfortable in the chair he was sitting in, which was not that hard since the coffee shop had really nice seat. It made him want to stay longer, have more comfy, and possibly take a nap. Being in this coffee shop made him feel almost cat like. He felt warm, content, and sleepy. However he was not sleepy, not at all. He had coffee and he was going to get to watch Add put a puzzle together. He was pretty excited in fact. Like a kid in a candy shop seeing their favorite candy on sale. Why do I keep thinking about candy? Seiji did eat candy but it was not some super desire to eat candy all the time. He pushed such thoughts aside since they were not really important and focused on what was going on now. On watching add work to put the puzzle together.

Seiji's eyes were locked on her, taking in account everything she was doing. She took a deep breath then seemed to stare at the puzzle. Was she working it all out in her head? Was she seeing it already in its full completed form? Seiji could only really wondered as he observed, unable to fully know at the moment . He was trying to imagine just how many synapse were firing in her brain at the moment, how many fired on a regular basis? How much of her brain did she use? Had to be more than the average human, since she was in fact a mutant, but that didn’t stop her from being human in his eyes. She just had a genetic mutation, one that he could see as being of great use and beneficial to all of human kind. She would make selections and put them down in other areas. Was she organizing it so it was easier for her to put together or she just wanted the puzzles to be facing a certain way?

"I find that a mind and the life of a person are both equally fascinating. How you live and what you do is a reflection of your brain in a way." Seiji said since he honestly was interested in getting to know Add the person and not just Add's brain. Brains and intelligence were nice and all, but he still liked people, the interactions, and their personalities. He was about to ask question but he got distracted when Add started to put the puzzle together. Not even hesitating as she would pick up a piece and place it down in its exact spot that it belonged. She was making pretty good time in fact, only taking a break after setting down several pieces. "What made you want to win the lottery? Was it just to see if you could do it? Where you planning something big with the money? Did they even let you have the money?" Seiji could not help but to ask several questions as soon as she paused in her puzzle building for a break. He wanted to know about the lottery event first, get an understanding of how she thought in that way first.

[Adelaide McLisk]

Minds weren't that fascinating to Add. She was tempted to say as much, but the puzzle was distracting her a little. Even if right now she was mostly staring at the puzzle and letting the pieces mentally fall into place. She knew that the math was starting to overwhelm and overcome her, though thankfully Seiji talked enough that Add could cling to those words, sort of a raft in a sea of numbers and equations.

Add heard the question, but didn't immediately answer it. She never was one to immediately begin speaking, irregardless of how easy the particular answer was (and in this case, it was quite easy). She began snapping puzzle pieces in place again, once more moving with almost mechanical ease, as though she were a robot designed to solve puzzles. It wasn't until she'd gotten to another stopping point that she actually answered:

"I always knew I could," she said, her voice flat. it wasn't bragging: it was stating facts. "The lottery and such are just combinations of probabilities. I only had to watch them for long enough to understand how they worked. I could do the same with the Montana lottery too if I had a few weeks," she held a piece up to study it a little more closely, tilting it to look for angles, then she set it down, staring at the various pieces scattered on the table. "I wished to donate the money to the school. I felt that more funds would be beneficial to the school, especially as they must eat through money. that and I felt I should pay the school back for all it had given me." Add moved to place pieces before realizing that she had another question to answer. She seemed almost irritated now: "And I did not wish to keep the money, save perhaps for a little to live on, and that was only an idea,' she then began putting more sections of the puzzle complete. She had over a quarter of it finished now.

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji waited and watched at Add started at the puzzle, wondering if she had heard his question or not. She said she could put the puzzle together and talk, so he trusted that she could. Figuring he still made it a little easier with having waited to ask during a pause. He didn’t want to bother her and ask if she had heard him so sat in silence, watching as she went back to working on the puzzle. Maybe I asked a too personal of a question or she does not really want to talk about it. Could even be that maybe she forgot about it? Seiji doubted his last thought because Add's mind seemed to be on to great of a level to forget things. He wondered for a moment if she had a photographic memory at all. Really he just wanted to know about her powers in greater detail, but again he would wait for that, not thinking that a coffee shop was the ideal location for such a discussion.

Oh I forgot to time! Seiji remembered, reaching to get his phone so he could get a stop watch. Then realized that might have been rude. He didn’t want to come off to strong that he was studying her. No, he wanted to just be an observer. If he brought out a stop watch that might change how she reacted. Maybe she would put the puzzle together even faster with knowing that she was being timed. How she was moved was interesting for sure, like she was a machine, just filling out a program to put this puzzle together. She then began to speak and Seiji was actively listening, noting that she seemed not even all that thrilled with her accomplishment. Explain it in simple enough terms that made sense and even seemed like anyone else could do it if they had the will, brain power, and the drive to study the numbers closely.

"That’s very nice of you Adelaide." Seiji said with a smile when he heard of her plans on what to do with the money. It was for a good cause and made sense that she would want to give back to a place that had looked after her and was still looking after her. That was why Seiji in the end went back to the school to work. Happy that they had a job open in his area of understanding. He noted how she studied the piece and how one of his questions seemed to have pushed a button possibly. "That still seems like a great idea to me. So did they let you keep your winnings?" Seiji asked, still not knowing the answer to that. He heard about the incident, but he did not really hear too much about the results. He just knew that Add was taken back to the academy after that. Still he was having a hard time understanding if she was doing it for a good purpose why it was so bad. That and for the fact that she had only done it once right? It was not if she was going to claim the winning for every single lottery after, right?

[Adelaide McLisk]

Add paused for a moment as Seiji declared her decision and actions "nice." she actually looked over at the young man for a few seconds, obviously having difficulties processing it. She'd never really thought of it as "nice" before, more of just something that should have been done. It was especially confusing because it was the first time that someone had actually said that what Add had done qualified as anything other than some kind of abuse of her powers and abilities. Her mind tugged her back toward the puzzle though, and she again looked to it. Seiji's comment hadn't been a question, and it really didn't mean that she had to actually comment back on it.

"I just felt it was what I should do to pay the school back," she intoned, feeling like she was sort of repeating herself there. She shrugged that feeling off and instead began assembling pieces again. She thought she'd seen Seiji pull out an actual timer, which actually amused Add, if only slightly. She felt her lips tug in a vague resemblance of a smile, as though her mouth wanted to form the expression but the girl just wasn't quite sure how it was done. While Add assembled, she kept her eyes on the various pieces. The probabilities were stacking up now. So as soon as Add finished mechanically assembling this section, she altered her strategy slightly. Now she looked for a few seconds, found a piece, picked it up, looked at the puzzle for a few seconds, and clicked it into place.

"I was not allowed to keep my winnings," she said, glancing over at Seiji. "They confiscated most of my funds, but they have allowed me a living allowance," Add's lips twitched again. "which was essentially what I wanted anyway," she paused in the puzzle constructing and speaking, hesitating for a few moments. "Why are you interested in this particular aspect of me? Is it puzzling that someone would want to win the money or use the money in a logical manner?" She glanced to Seiji, but only for a moment before assembling more pieces of the puzzle. Said puzzle had already passed the third completed portion, with over three hundred pieces assembled in only a matter of moments.

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji just looked at Add with a smile as she turned to look at him after his comment about her doing something nice. Was she not used to being praised for doing something good? Or was it along the lines of him using the word nice? He did suppose he could have used a better word. There were so many synonyms for the word nice. Nice was a bit plain in fact if he thought about it long enough and was now thinking of a better word to use. Leevi was now had his head peeking out of Seiji's sleeve, specifically the one that Seiji had his arm resting on a little bit of the table. The snake looking at the puzzle and flicking his tongue. Taking in the scents of the coffee house as well as Add's scent. Seeing her and already wanting to get a closer look, but Leevi was smart still. He looked around to make sure no one was looking before retreating back into Seiji's sleeve, and going with his less obvious plan to get closer to Add.

Seiji gave a nod and smiled a little more, a warmer smile at hearing Add's words. "You're a very caring person Adelaide. Some might say you abused your powers but I think what you did had all the best intentions. You have a good heart." Seiji said with a small nod, telling her how he saw it anyways. He could have been wrong and Add could have not been as kind as he thought she was or just king in this one area, but he felt like he was right. He saw something, some sort of mouth movement, yes? No? Could she have been ready to smile? Did she not really smile all that much? Now he had to know, had to see it. He bet she had a pretty smile, most people did he figured. At least in a certain way, well when they had teeth anyways.

Add went back to putting the puzzle together and seemed to have switched up how she was putting it together. No, Seiji was sure now that she was using a different tactic all together, not like it was a huge change, but still enough that made him wonder why she had switched it up. Like she was taking her time, looking more closely at the pieces. Sure having more and more of the puzzle made it a little easier to have things fall into place, but that was not always the case. It depended on the section of what you had done, that why Seiji like to work from he edges and work his way in. His attention went back to her while he still would look at the puzzle as she spoke about how she got to keep what she earned in the end, and how that was her original plan all along. He really didn’t see the point in her being punished, she could have lied and said she had just been lucky, but people must have looked into things which lead to the problem, but he was not sure.

"I just wanted to see the kind of person you are. Your morals in other words. That you did not do it for selfish reasons and in fact was doing it because you knew you could but also the fact that you were going to use the money for good." Seiji said, not sure if he explained it right since the thought was flowing in his head faster than he could speak and he was already talking pretty fast. "Not everyone would think logically, they would think selfish, and that’s why I have so much admiration for you Adelaide. Even with all your knowledge from what you say you are not really using it for any real harm." Seiji said with a smile, yes admitting that he had admiration for her.

[Adelaide McLisk]

Caring? Add nearly laughed at that, and she certainly shook her head. "It was simply the most logical thing to do. I could do it, and I wanted to prove that I could. Furthermore, the school can always use funding, and I could provide it," she insisted, putting as much emphasis on the words as she could manage. She didn't think that much of it actually sank in with Seiji. He seemed determined to valorize Add far more than she deserved, and she knew better than to attempt to disabuse people of those notions when they became this entrenched in someone's mind.

The explanation only further proved Add's suspicion, as far as she was concerned. He kept claiming that she wasn't selfish; Add wasn't sure if she should agree or not. The school didn't quite seem to, hence why they kept a loose watch on her. Loose was the term though: Add simply couldn't leave the area, and she had a few people checking in on her every once in a while. Certainly nothing major enough for her to become overly concerned. She did start to nod her agreement as Seiji talked about the whole logical issue. that, she could get behind. As for not using her knowledge to do harm.

"I would, if that was the most logical course of action," she said, speaking calmly. "My ability does allow me to predict people's movements and reactions, and I have used this to harm people in the past, especially when they have problems," Add paused, and she actually blinked, seeming to think about what she'd just said, but in a different manner than she so often did. 'I'm not sure that was right though," she admitted. And then she began assembling the puzzle, again moving like some sort of machine, albeit a slightly slower one. The puzzle still shot right past the halfway mark, coming together strangely. It was worth noting that Add had started at one corner of the puzzle too, building it up at a diagonal from there, working off Seiji's frame and constructing in that manner, even if, perhaps, starting at the edges would have made more sense.

[Seiji Lockard]

"Even if it was logical, it could still be taken as caring. Since you could have done whatever you wanted. So that fact that you thought about giving back to the school in itself was the kind act." Seiji tried to explain and then chuckled a little since he did understand where she was coming from. It was a very logical based stance, which had its points, but he felt like emotion should be noted. Even if emotions could sway things in a negative way, they could sway in a positive way. It all depended on the situation, but Seiji was never one to think that emotions should be completely ruled out in every scenario. Plus even if someone did rule out their own emotions, people who had emotions would still take it a certain way. Possibly calling a logical act heartless, which it was. Well not fully, since the heart itself did not dictate emotions, the brain do, but the whole body was affected by emotions.

However Add did not seem to agree at all with how he thought. Coming off like being logical was the only real way to think about things. He learned something knew about her, but was not sure how he felt about it. He still had an admiration for her but at the same time felt a little pity if she never really felt emotions or never allowed herself to. Emotions where healthy to a certain point and great for releasing certain chemicals in the body. He smile was gone at her words about how she would if it was a logical action, but he didn’t really give away any expression. He listened still as she explained, and noted the tone in her voice, but he still had curiosity there. I don’t buy that she is without emotions. Seiji thought to himself because she had to have had them at some point. Her mutation could not have erased all of them if she had them as an emotions growing up before her mutation, right?

"Was it for self-protection, or just because you could do it?" Seiji asked when she went back to working on the puzzle. He found it odd that she was working in, instead of from the edges of the puzzle like he normally, did but he would not argue it. Each person had their method to the things that they did and if that method worked in the end, then who was he to judge how it was done. Leevi meanwhile was moving under the table over to Add, making his move now and going to plop his 2.5 foot body onto Add's lap and attempting to make his way up her body.

[Adelaide McLisk]

Seiji kept insisting that emotions were involved, but Add just wasn't sure she could agree. She didn't think that she'd felt something strongly for years now, certainly not at the level that Seiji was suggesting. She still couldn't really dismiss his ideas out of hand though; they were logical to some degree and had to be considered. Despite all attempts otherwise, humans simply could not be completely logical creatures. Had Add somehow let her feelings infect her otherwise flawless logical methods of operation? the idea was nearly terrifying to her, which she supposed was an emotion in and of itself.

More puzzle; the puzzle was easy, and getting easier as Add went along. More pieces meant more data, plus, it meant less variables. Thus Add could easily pick up speed, never wavering from her mechanical efficiency. Pick up a piece, move over, set it down, and move onto the next.

Until Seiji asked a question that caused Add to stop entirely, timer or no. she held a piece, rubbing it absently between her fingers while she considered. "It was rarely for protection,' she said with that same eerily flat voice. "I did it partially because I could, and partially because people are so often unable to solve their own difficulties. they present themselves as puzzles waiting to be solved, yet they attempt to solve themselves, mostly failing. They are more interesting than this one though," she clicked a few more pieces then, feeling that was a sufficient answer. She couldn't help but mill it over as she moved though, wondering if she'd said something that would have made her various therapy workers quite upset with her...