March 5, mid-afternoon | Video

[cursemarked]

[Rei looks incredibly sheepish when she turns the video on, running a hand through her hair. In her other hand is a little kitten that some might recognize from Duo's post before It seems to find nibbling on her fingers an agreeable past time, and Rei doesn't seem to mind]

I think I might need Cats Anonymous. I can't seem to resist anything cute and helpless... I'm going to become one of those women soon. [You know, crazy cat ladies or something. No one to talk to but her cats and the dog that looks like a loaf of bread]

This makes three cats and a dog so far. I might need to be stopped.

Ah, and I hope everyone who joined my photography class got their cameras and are practicing already. I'll be starting classes officially on Monday. It's not too late to sign up, either!

[Private to Kotetsu and Barnaby]

[Speaking of cute and helpless]

I don't suppose I could convince either of you to take one of my cats, could I?

[And on a more serious note as she lowers the kitten onto her lap] I'm sure you're already aware that someone else from your world arrived and was in the hospital. [...And now that she thinks about it, she never did get his name. Damn.] I just wanted to make sure he's okay. It was alright that I told him you were here, wasn't it?

[As nice as he'd seemed there was always the risk of him being an enemy, after all]

((OOC: I didn't put up any official sign-up sheet for Rei's photography classes. Assume that if your character would be interested, have seen the sign-up sheet by Rei's art gallery, and signed up-- OR if they talked to Rei and expressed an interest, that they've received a new camera from Rei! Nothing overly fancy, but it's a camera and it's theirs!))

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[timelessummoner]

Thank you.

[He shuts off the communicator and practically runs all the way to the Murder Manor. It doesn't take him long to arrive and knock on her door, trying to catch his breath.]

[cursemarked]

[She answers the door a moment later and gives him a comforting smile] Hello Raidou, come in. Sit down and catch your breath, okay?

[She steps aside for him, gesturing for him to come in.]

[timelessummoner]

[He stares at her, looking lost for a moment. Then he nods silently and steps inside.]

[cursemarked]

[Well that was concerning. She closes the door behind him and turns to him, frowning lightly]

Is everything okay, Raidou?

[timelessummoner]

Yes. I just... [witnessed his home being attacked and too many people were suffering, and he knows it's his job to fix it but doesn't know how--

And he can't bring himself to tell anyone that last part.]

I missed you.

[cursemarked]

[She can't help but feel touched by the admission, moving to slide a comforting arm around his shoulders]

I missed you too, Raidou. [She realizes she promised to make tea, but this seems a bit more important right now]

How was home?

[timelessummoner]

[He hasn't felt this kind of comfort in a while. It's nice.]

It has been hectic. We received a new case soon after I returned to work and, well... Things escalated.

[cursemarked]

[Rei's quiet a moment, guiding Raidou towards the couch] Do you want to talk about it?

[timelessummoner]

[Raidou hesitates. How much should he say? Telling everything could make her worry, and he hates doing that to her.

But he does want to talk about it...]

It is a long story.

[cursemarked]

[She just smiles] I've got a lot of time-- as much as you need, in fact.

[timelessummoner]

...Alright.

[He sits down on the couch. Where to begin...]

I was assigned to investigate the source of strange disturbance in the Capital. Some citizens became unnaturally lucky overnight, while others suffered misfortune after misfortune. That alone would have been bad, but the sudden rise in accidents and unhappiness started attracting Fiends and major demons to the city.

[cursemarked]

[She sits with him, listening curiously. She remembered him talking about demons and things before, a while back, but it still makes her worry to hear of it again.

People becoming massively lucky, or unlucky, overnight?] How does something like that happen? Luck is supposed to be...random and chance, isn't it?

[timelessummoner]

It should be, yes. I found out it was caused by luck locusts... insects capable of stealing and storing luck in their bodies. I was at the receiving end of one's bite as well, and it made things more difficult than they needed to be.

In any case, they were a forbidden weapon used be a clan of assasins in the San'in region in the south, so we tracked them down there.

[cursemarked]

[Man you never learn this stuff in the history books. Kind of regretting that their worlds are different, this sounds interesting]

What were they planning to do? What could storing luck possibly do?

[timelessummoner]

Though the use of luck locusts was forbidden, the son of the assassin clan's chief, Dahn Tsukigata, had stolen them and as a result became a fugitive in the eyes of his family. He was the one responsible for the whole affair.

As for what he was planning... [He pauses, frowning. This part is the most unpleasant one to share.] He wanted to prevent his sister's marriage ritual.

[cursemarked]

[. . . What that's it??]

That's why? [Her surprise is obvious] That seems rather...childish, to do all that just for that.

[timelessummoner]

We did not understand it at first, either. However... [Sigh.]

His sister -- Akane Tsukigata -- was to marry Lord Tento, a local god worshiped by the villagers. It is customary for the Tsukigata daughters to Lord Tento to ensure the prosperity of the village. Akane-san was prepared to fulfill her duty, whereas Dahn... Well, he was determined to spare her from that fate at any cost.

[He pauses, his expression growing darker.] He wanted power to overthrow Lord Tento... or rather, as we found out, the Tento lords.

[cursemarked]

Does... the bride die, if they do this? [That's the only way she can see someone being so against this. And really this is just reminding her of the rituals and things from back in her own world.

It's always some poor girl prepared to do their duty before something comes along to mess it up. A doubt, a love, another person (or all three at once), and it makes her heart ache.]

[timelessummoner]

No... Death might be a more merciful option. [He's quiet for a moment.]

The Tento lords are an underground-dwelling tribe of... well, I am not quite certain what they are. They look like somewhat humanoid insects, but I know they are not demons.

The portion of them that are in contact with the Tsukigata family detest humans and see themselves as wronged gods. They provide the assassins with their unique weapons in exchange for their daughters, allowing Tsukigata to survive and prosper.

[cursemarked]

[Yeah, uncomfortably close to some of Rei's experiences with the rituals that she's uncovered. Although at least it's weapons and not a gaping gate to hell. That...helps, right?

She says nothing just sliding a comforting arm around him again, quietly urging him to continue]

[timelessummoner]

[Raidou is silent for another moment. The Tsukigata case had been what made him second-guess himself again. He had done what was his duty, and yet... it was not the right thing to do.]

...I saw what happened to the previous bride. She was still alive in those caves. And despite that... I helped protect Akane-san's marriage ritual from Dahn.

[cursemarked]

[She rubs his shoulder lightly, trying to think of what to say] And you don't know if you did the right thing?

[timelessummoner]

I don't know if I could have done anything else, with the Capital in danger... But I can't call it right.

I suppose it may not matter anymore. In the end, neither my actions nor Dahn's saved anyone.

[cursemarked]

Raidou... [She trails off lightly, sympathetic, and pulls him in some. Her head rests against his, quiet and comforting, quietly encouraging him to talk more if needed]

[timelessummoner]

[He swallows. The warm gesture makes this easier and harder at the same time. It's comforting, but it's unfamiliar as well.]

The despair of the Capital opened the Infinite Abyss -- the Gate to the Abysmal Realm. Dahn's plan was to control the Apollyon monsters that came out in order to defeat the Tento lords... But they did not listen to him and began to wreck the Capital instead.