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Post by mugenginga on Jul 8, 2010 3:12:47 GMT -5
Teddie had gone his own direction after he went out of the apartment building. The delay had been just enough that he managed to miss both Yuugi and Atem. It was so close that if any of them had turned around at one point, they would have run into at least one of the others. The fact was, they didn't. The near misses continued even further as Minato and Ryoji showed up less than a minute after the three had left the area.
The movies had been a bit of a bust. The Island was rather particular and sensitive in regards to those that were drawn to it, and the movies had a rather similar "lock" on them that the Island's internet did. If it directly connected to a world that had come to the Island, it didn't exist. The hows of it weren't exactly important (and probably a fair bit disturbing to analyze), but it had limited the choices at the theater. They had ended up watching some random monster movie. It had been interesting enough for what it was, but probably wouldn't be recommended any time soon.
The activity on the streets had calmed down a bit with it being about one thirty in the afternoon. Lunch break was over for most people, and those many businesses that were still open remained so. Ryoji had taken advantage of the lack of crowd and been walking rather close to Minato. As in the teenager was showing some dexterity in managing to not step on the blue haired teen's feet. The ambulance had not been missed by either of them, but it wasn't an uncommon site in the city and neither had thought anything of it.
Ryoji grabbed the front of the scarf he'd let Minato wear and gave it a firm tug. If Minato looked at him as he spoke, he'd see a rather characteristic grin... one that back in their homeworld he'd really only given girls.
"You're blind sometimes, Minato," he stuck his tongue out at the other teenager.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jul 8, 2010 3:47:23 GMT -5
As it was, Minato was glad when the movie finally ended. Kaiju films weren't his favorites, though it had either been that or some cheesy chick flick. That was the main problem with just about everything on the island being original material. It all sucked. It wasn't that the kaiju film had been bad, per say (though it was definitely no Gojira), it was just that he really didn't like kaiju movies. That was what he was telling himself, anyways.
He blinked and looked toward Ryoji as he tugged on the scarf he was wearing. The words made him blush and look around, like he had dropped something and couldn't see where.
"Blind? About what? I don't see anything," Minato said. He gave Ryoji a playful look. "You didn't take something of mine, did you?"
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Souji didn't move from where he was sitting. That had been what he'd been waiting for. He was still shaking. Izanagi wanted him dead, and if Izanagi took full control, that was what was going to happen. He would fade away and be completely unable to regret it because he'd be gone too.
What are you waiting for? Isn't this what you wanted?
......
Well!?
....You disgust me.
....What?
Your enemy's dead and you're practically suicidal over it. She's not even dead in the strictest of senses, either. All that died was that long dead shell called Tadoru Mana.
Shut up...
If I'd known it just took the death of someone to break your will, I would have done it a long time ago. But this... this is pitiful. You're better off dead.
Then why don't you kill me?!
Your actions today have caused me to change my mind. You achieved that one goal. But I no longer consider you my avatar. I'll only control you when it is convenient for me... like right now.
Souji couldn't do anything to stop his body from moving. He found himself standing up and walking out of the bedroom toward the kitchen. This was different from before. He was moving, but at the same time, he could tell he was the one in control. His eyes widened as he realized what Izanagi was forcing him to move toward and grab. There was a knife that had been left out from earlier on the counter.
"S-Stop..."
I won't kill you. But the experience will make your friends believe that, in your grief, you attempted to kill yourself. The fallout from this should be... interesting.
"D-Dammit, no--"
And then Izanagi forced the knife into Souji's arm. The cut had been done so that it would bleed, but not to kill. However, it was unlikely that anyone Souji knew would be able to realize this. Souji lost balance and the room seemed to swirl around him. He managed to catch himself on a counter before finally collapsing on the floor.
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Post by mugenginga on Jul 8, 2010 14:00:07 GMT -5
The two hadn't stopped walking with Ryoji's tease. The apartments were in full view now. Ryoji gave a look of mock insult at Minato's words and stood back up after dropping the scarf. He let out an elaborate sigh and stretched his hands behind his back as he walked. He seemed to be prolonging the time it took to answer. His expression shifted to one that seemed almost lost in thought.
"Maybe it only works on girls..." He looked towards Minato again with a teasing look, "The theater was dark, and I know you were bored with the movie. About the only thing I didn't do was put my arm around your shoulder. How you got first base with any of the girls is beyond me."
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jul 8, 2010 17:15:00 GMT -5
Minato flushed bright red at Ryoji's words, though he knew Ryoji was just teasing. "W-Well, at least I never tried to take them down Shirakawa Boulevard!" Minato stuttered out. He seemed rather flustered. And Minato had never taken any girls to a hotel on Shirakawa Boulevard (well, except Yukari, Mitsuru, and Fuuka, but that was a whole different story). He'd always taken them up to his bedroom instead.
However, at that moment a police car pulled past them and parked in front of their building in the apartment complex. Minato stopped and looked toward Ryoji.
"Adachi doesn't have a car, does he?" Minato asked Ryoji. "I always see him walk to work, so... think something happened?"
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Post by mugenginga on Jul 8, 2010 18:50:09 GMT -5
Ryoji kept smiling as Minato went into his stutters. The thing was, with the threat of the Fall over, Ryoji had relaxed. And the teenager had never been known for being subtle. Even more, it wasn't as if they weren't intimate, every implication intended. He gave a quick glance to the lack of crowd and was reaching towards Minato's scarf again when the police car went past them. He paused with one hand on the front end of the scarf again, looking back towards Minato when he asked his question.
"...is it possible its something unrelated to us? There are other people living there, right?"
He didn't sound totally convinced. He also seemed a little annoyed. It was all targeted at the car.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jul 8, 2010 19:30:05 GMT -5
Minato gave Ryoji a flat look at that question. "Ryoji, name the last time something happened in our building that didn't have something to do with us?"
And with that, he pulled Ryoji's hand off of the scarf and started walking even faster toward their building.
He didn't quite expect what he saw at the top of the stairs. A large section of the hallway was taped off. There was a large puddle of blood on the floor and on a bit of the wall. There were a couple cops and what looked like a clean-up crew on the other side of the tape. From the looks of things, someone had been shot.
"What the..." Minato was gaping at the scene.
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Post by mugenginga on Jul 8, 2010 19:37:21 GMT -5
Honestly, Ryoji couldn't have told Minato. He'd been there for what, two weeks? Although it had been rather chaotic. The moment and resulting advances ruined, Ryoji ran after Minato. He was a bit delayed, just long enough for the door to swing shut again before he got to it. He opened it up and headed up the stairs.
"Minato, we-"
Ryoji stopped just behind Minato as he saw the scene. Police tape? He took a step to the side and up so he was next to Minato. It effectively cut off the entire stairway. His eyes widened as he looked at the scene. There was blood on the ground, and while Ryoji didn't put the pieces together about a shot (they'd find no bullet, as it hadn't gone all the way through earlier) it was pretty evident someone had been attacked. Looking at the set up... possibly killed?
A man ducked under the police tape and stepped forward. He stopped and looked up more from seeing the feet of the two teenagers than actually them. He frowned and gestured to the side.
"You need to clear a path. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but no one is allowed past until we're done here."
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jul 8, 2010 19:54:15 GMT -5
Minato was still staring stunned at the scene when the officer walked up to the two of them and told them to clear a path. Minato blinked. "O-Oh, right, sorry." He moved off of the stairs and onto the second floor, though now he was still blocking the stairs to the third floor.
"What the hell happened here...?" Minato breathed. Without waiting for any answers, an idea hit him. "H-Hey, didn't Souji say he was staying home today? Maybe he knows what's going on!"
He pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and dialed Souji's phone number. The other end of the line continued to ring.
"He's not picking up...." Minato said to himself. That was strange... especially since Souji had just gone out and bought a new phone. It didn't seem like Souji to forget to leave his phone on or something like that.
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Post by mugenginga on Jul 8, 2010 19:58:57 GMT -5
Minato was pretty much voicing Ryoji's thoughts. He had assumed that the main portion of chaos would end with the Fall. After all, the last week had been more or less peaceful. Now there was a crime scene blocking off most of the second floor. Access to Minato's apartment was out of the question. He looked up as Minato's expression changed to more worry, and Ryoji's eyes widened at the implication.
"H-Hey! Police-san!"
One of the people crouching on the ground blinked and looked up. Ryoji was waving his arm to get her attention. She stood up and said something quietly to one of her team mates before walking over to Ryoji. She gave him a firm look.
"Yes?"
"There wasn't a silver haired teenager involved in this, was there? Taller then me, short hair...?"
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jul 8, 2010 21:14:43 GMT -5
"You two knew the victim?"
Minato's eyes widened. Knew. Past tense, meaning that whoever was involved was no longer among them. Victim, meaning that someone fitting their description had been the one who'd spilled all of this blood. The possibility of it being another certain silver-haired "teenager" didn't even cross Minato's mind.
"What happened?!" Minato was officially panicking. From the evidence, Souji was dead...
"Someone was attacked in the hallway here. One of our officers who was on the scene at the time attempted to help, but his gun misfired and hit a bystander, and the attacker got away," the officer said. One could see her berating Adachi in her head.
Minato wasn't even looking at the officer as she spoke. He found himself falling back and sitting down on the stairs. This wasn't possible...
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Post by mugenginga on Jul 8, 2010 21:31:57 GMT -5
Ryoji hadn't known Souji all that well. But he knew Minato well enough to know immediately where the teenager's brain had jumped. He looked towards the blue haired teenager as he shouted. The woman looked apologetic as she spoke, but her mind seemed elsewhere. Ryoji looked past her and towards Minato as he collapsed onto the stairs. Ryoji frowned held a head to his forehead, his fingertips digging into his hair.
"Tha-that easily? H-he wasn't even fighting for anything..."
".....He?"
Ryoji looked up towards her. His eyes had gone unfocused, but he'd managed not to sit. The fact was he didn't know Souji as well as he knew Minato. He didn't know any of them as well as he knew Minato, for obvious and less obvious reasons. Now his eyes refocused and he looked at her with confusion.
She looked a bit confused as well. He? While she hadn't gotten all the details on the victim, she'd gotten some basics. Teenager, silver hair, female. This teenager had just said he...
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jul 8, 2010 22:59:33 GMT -5
Minato looked up as the officer said "he". He hadn't misheard. She was confused over the male pronoun Ryoji had used. He stood up again and looked over at the officer with a confused expression.
"...Seta Souji?" Minato asked. "That's our friend's name..."
It seemed the two teenagers had confused the victim with someone else. In her defense, the one that had described him to her hadn't exactly been very clear with his description. In fact, he'd been anything but.
"I was told the victim was a Tadoru Mana."
"O-oh..." Minato breathed a sigh of relief. Souji wasn't dead... instead someone else was... he could swear that name seemed familiar, though. Mana, Mana... Where had he heard a "Mana" before...?
....Wait a minute. His eyes widened as the realization hit him. That was the name Izanami had been using! Why had she been here in the first place?! And not only that, but now she was... dead? How?!
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Post by mugenginga on Jul 8, 2010 23:32:43 GMT -5
Ryoji let out a breath he had been holding. He didn't know anyone by that name, but it wasn't Souji. It wasn't even male, Mana was a girl's name. He looked towards Minato and gave him a reassuring grin. This was just in time for Minato to start reacting again. The horror from before wasn't there, but now he just seemed in shock. Ryoji ran over to him.
"Minato, what's wrong? Did you know her?"
The brown haired teenager was running through the people Minato knew. He couldn't think of a single one with silver hair other than Souji. That Bakura had been white-haired, but... that one man had been silver haired too. What was his name? Naota? He shook his head. It wasn't Mana, in any case.
The woman looked at Ryoji for a moment before pulling out a notepad from her pocket. She flipped it open, thumbing through a few pages. The report had been fast, but if she remembered right they had a suspect for who had put Adachi in the condition he was. They hadn't gotten a name, but... her eyes narrowed. Right. Silver hair, male. Why hadn't she seen that before? She made a few educated leaps and looked towards the two.
"Do you two know where I can find this Seta Souji?"
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jul 9, 2010 0:12:50 GMT -5
Minato looked over toward Ryoji as he ran over and nodded. "Kinda. I'll tell you later." He didn't want to bring up the subject of Mana being Izanami with a cop standing right there.
He looked toward the officer as she pulled out the notebook. He narrowed his eyes as she looked up and asked where she could find Souji after flipping through a few pages. Why would she want to see him now?
"He lives down at the end of the hall. We can show you where his apartment is..." Minato said. "I don't think he's home, though, he didn't pick up when I called him."
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Post by mugenginga on Jul 9, 2010 1:39:27 GMT -5
She nodded and folded up the book. She glanced at the people on the team and considered for a moment. If she didn't tell that Souji's friends what was going on, it was possible they would jump to conclusions. If she did, they might not want to cooperate. She didn't feel like pulling her badge on them. After a moment she stuck the notepad in her back pocket and looked towards the two. Might as well tell them...
"An officer by the name of Adachi Tohru was beaten within an inch of his life. All evidence points to this Seta-san having done it. It will be better for him if you aid us. I've had some personal experience with "insanity" pleas before, and what we coul get out of Adachi made that seem a possible cause. I would greatly appreciate your aid in getting to his apartment, but I don't want you boys coming in."
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