soul_campaign | [ 13 | May 11th, Afternoon

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[ 13 | May 11th, Afternoon | Video ]

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['Keep calm'... that's what the video said. But he's anything -but- calm. With a fist slamming down on the counter, he finally lets it sink in. His jaw's tight and his eyes are steely.]

Some son of a bitch took Naoto!

[Then he turns his head away.]

And whoever did it must've taken Yako-san and Cupid, too. Damn it...! How did-!?

[He's at a loss. He's searched every part of Death City that he knew, but nothing turned up. He seems to have forgotten he was recording then, as his fists are balled his knuckles are turning a little white.]

Why the hell didn't I offer to walk with her to work...!?

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Agency works. That way we're right on the potential trail, right?

Alright. [If she remembered correctly, it wasn't too much further. And then another thought occurred to her.]

Are there any shops along the way that would have been open then? Maybe, a shopkeeper might have noticed her passing by before those folks took her. [If one had, it would help narrow down where the kidnapping took place.]

There's a couple'a snack shops that open up early to catch people comin' outta morning training.

Maybe whoever opened up that day saw her walkin' past, or... saw everything.

[Lily frowned.] But if someone actually saw the kidnapping, surely they should have reported it.

[And there was the Agency...]

Which way do we go now?

I wasn't the one who filed the report... so somebody knew before I did.

[He looked away, and pointed down the sidewalk.]

This road's direct. Goes to the park if ya stay on it.

[And she stopped to stare at him, surprised he hadn't mentioned this before.]

Wait, someone else reported it first? Have you tried getting a look at the report? [If there actually was a witness, that would make knowing where to search much easier than going over the whole route and hoping they found something!]

She works for the detective agency and I tried callin' 'em first wondering if she was workin' late.

I mean, one'a the detectives probably filed it to play it safe or somethin', but if I can get my hands on that report, then I can know who filed the report. Unless they did it anonymously...

[Funny, he was talking like he knew a little more about this than he let on.]

You think it was one of her coworkers then? Who do we talk to about getting a look at this report?

[She doesn't quite catch on to that but it sounds as if she doesn't think getting that report should be too difficult...]

Probably Edgeworth. Dude's her boss.

Should we see about that since we're here?

[She turned back to the Agency building and blinked, noticing now just what a mess it looked like from the vandals' attack a few days earlier.]

What the heck happened here?

Rioters decided to try and ransack the place a few days back. They ain't pullin' their damn punches...

S'why I haven't gone in to get reports. I think they're pretty messed up as it is and I don't have much reason for steppin' into any cop nest.

[He usually went in because his partner or his friends worked there. But with their abduction... he was far less inclined to step in.]

[So, this place had been attacked, too. And much worse than the shop.]

[Lily could understand not wanting to bother them if they were still trying to get back on track but raised an eyebrow at the latter reason. She vaguely remembered he didn't seem to like the police much but...]

'Cop nest?' Do you not get along with Naoto's coworkers? [Admittedly, Miles probably wasn't too fond of her either after the pool accident. Still...] Isn't getting information that could help find your friend more important?

[He went red all of a sudden.]

Sh-shit, what the hell'm I thinkin'!? S-stay here!!

[And in he... charges. He'll just have to deal with Edgeworth, even if the guy wasn't too pleased with him either!]

[And Lily just stared after him for a few moments. Well, that worked... She hoped he didn't knock anyone over charging in like a rampaging bull.]

[While she waited, she turned back to the street Kanji had indicated, her expression growing thoughtful as she studied the sidewalk. This part of the shopping district was quieter but surely, the kidnappers wouldn't have tried to snatch their victim right outside the detective agency, would they? But then, there were people who actually dared attack the Agency itself so even if it was risky, it didn't seem out of the question.]

[He'd be back about five minutes later, short of breath.]

Wouldn't let me take a copy of the report or nothin'...

But it was one'a the agents that filed the report. I actually talked to 'em yesterday when I thought she was workin' late, but her name didn't show up on the timecard report and all her stuff was untouched in the office from the day before. When I told 'em her stuff's still in her room, so BREW didn't send her home, they knew somethin' was up and wanted to let Shibusen know.

...The last time people went missing was because of Witches needing guinea pigs for their experiments and kishin egg food. They didn't wanna take the chance of people goin' missing for long again.

I see. [Well, so much for getting a better clue on where to start searching. It looked like they would have to do this the hard way...]

[She started walking and frowned at the mention of Witches, once again reminded that the people here didn't cotton to them.]

Um, experiments? There were people kidnapped around here before? [She had missed that due to BREW's whims.]

Yeah... one'a the witches had familiars snatchin' people up and carryin' 'em off. I was one of 'em, and probably would've been kishin egg food if the others didn't come and bust my ass out.

[Lily had been scanning the cobblestones as they walked, looking for the gleam of a loose button or the blue of cloth scrap. But the words caused her to stop and look up and down at him in disbelief.]

You were kidnapped here before? [She couldn't really imagine it. There was no way a critter like Oscar or Aidan's familiar Noctemus could carry off a person of Kanji's size!] By a witch's familiar? But that's impossible!

[She'd never realized those giant insects had been familiars and spoke without thinking through the implications.]

I thought so, too. Never seen birds get that big, but maybe the Witch used magic or somethin'. Size-changing can't be all that complicated if they can fly around on brooms and stuff, y'know?

[He took a few opportunities to hunker down and get a better look at the ground. He had to think like her for a minute. Naoto never hurried anywhere, especially not to work; she always left with ample time to spare. But he was seeing nothing like any piece of what she wore or anything. He hoped the street cleaners weren't being super thorough this week...]

[Lily huffed and folded her arms across her chest at this rather stereotypical idea about witches. Bewitched had been a favorite of hers as a child but Samantha flying around on a broom in the opening just wasn't something real witches did! And she most certainly couldn't just twitch her nose and make something grow or shrink!]

You don't really believe that nonsense about flying around on brooms, do you? And magic doesn't work like that! [If Kanji was thinking about it, he might realize she sounded oddly annoyed about the issue.]

Some here do! I saw 'em! [He had no idea he'd struck a nerve.]

I mean, it ain't like I'm a Witch or nothin', so how the hell should I know how magic is 'supposed' to work outside of TV shows or however the ones here work?

[Damn it, that was just a piece of blue trash, no clothing fibers or anything. Grr...]

What, you use magic back home or somethin'?

I— [She clapped a hand over her mouth, cringing a bit as she realized the implications of what she had said. Dag nab it! Even if she was friendly with Kanji, she still intended to keep her witchy ways in the broom closet as long as she could! Slowly, she lowered her hand and tried to bluff her way out.]

I... Um, no but, I mean, that's something that only happens on TV or in the movies! Because who even believes in witches anymore? Where I came from, witch hunts went out of style in the 1700s. And honestly, I find it appalling that folks here are still carrying out such a practice!

Witches are real here and dangerous, Lily! They're nothing like the ones in the stories, the TV shows and movies! Y'weren't... y'weren't there, damn it!

[He turned to her.]

The Witches here don't give a shit about anything but puttin' the world on a silver platter for the damn kishin! They put the Black Blood in the water to make us kill each other, fed us to the goddamn kishin eggs!

We're cattle to these fuckin' hags.

Old hags in league with the Devil? Is that how it is? [There was a bitter note. Even after all these years, it still hurt to hear things like that.]

Do you realize how many people were killed in the historical witch hunts? Tens of thousands. Burned, hanged, drowned on accusations of witchcraft. It was mostly just a convenient disguise for personal vendettas! I'll give you the demons but I question this blame everything on witches mentality this place seems to have.

I know about the Witch Trials from school, and how they were innocent. I know it's a sore spot... but it's still different here.

They're different here. Most of 'em, anyway. The ones we're after want us dead, Lily.

[But then he looked up at her again, expression weary.]

Experiments on humans. Brainwashing. Artifacts that induce madness and that moral manipulation machine. It all sucks because I know people here who were witches back home. I get why they're pissed and scared that they'll be lumped in with 'em... they're not the same as the ones here. Everywhere else, they can be good people.

I just can't forgive this world's witches! Not after everything they've done. I watched so many people die down there, had to sit in the dark and hear 'em screamin' for help. I just...

[He balled his fists.]

Don't... don't defend 'em, damn it.

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