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Post by mugenginga on Jul 8, 2010 22:59:09 GMT -5
A young woman who looked to be twenty or so was walking around the shrine. She had a wooden broom in her hand and was sweeping the grounds with it. Her hair was done up in two braids which hung in front of her shoulders. She bore a striking resemblance to the teenager who had left the Shrine earlier that day, and it was quite possible someone could mistake her as such. She was even wearing a miko uniform.
She would have to speak to Souji soon. He was likely in shock over seeing her shot in the heart. She hadn't had time to say more than his name before her spirit was gone from this world. She had been quick about making an avatar, but she'd had to wait over twenty years for the damn thing to mature. She let out a sigh and straightened up. Even if the girl had been "grown" for her, it sure wasn't comfortable after hundreds of years in her past one...
She ignored the sound of a car pulling up. The energy around the Shrine interfered even with her abilities to read it. After all, the space within was protected by a barrier. Energy was as hard to get out of it as it was to get in. So she didn't even realize it was a police car...
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jul 8, 2010 23:45:56 GMT -5
As it turned out, the car that had pulled up belonged to a certain Kenji Takahashi. He didn't like this place. Never had, especially after his own certain bad experiences with shrines like these. Especially shrines that worshipped strange gods. This one focused on Izanami of all gods. And considering the evidence, the miko who had run it was possibly Izanami herself.
Said miko was now dead.
This whole incident reeked. The past week had been hell. Nearly a week ago, those torture murders had started up, and their investigations on that front had gone nowhere. Even the people who'd survived weren't talking. Some of them because they didn't have tongues anymore. With the recent murders, a normal murder like this should have been a blessing. But it wasn't, because this whole situation stunk.
For one, the miko who quite possibly was a goddess had been shot by Adachi, who had been acting strangely lately. Adachi then had the shit beaten out of him by a silver-haired kid, who was most likely the same silver-haired kid he'd seen at the festival that one time, the one who'd had some kind of beef with the miko. So it seemed likely that the miko had come to the apartments to do something regarding him. Said miko gets herself shot while trying to protect the silver-haired kid from some random attacker, who was quite possibly the same guy they were looking for. Adachi was acting weird, silver-haired kid Adachi knew, and dead miko silver-haired kid knew.
After locking his car behind him, Takahashi headed up the stairs to the shrine. However, he ended up stopping in his tracks as he reached the top of the stairs. If he didn't know better, he'd say that was the miko who'd been killed.
"'Scuse me," Takahashi called. "I'm with the Void City police department. You're aware that the owner of this shrine is dead and you're trespassing, correct?"
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Post by mugenginga on Jul 8, 2010 23:57:41 GMT -5
Sayuri had been aware when the sacred area around the shrine had the man pass through it. She stopped and straightened up. She might have turned around when Takahashi had addressed her had he not accused her of trespassing. She tensed up and frowned. If he could see her face he'd realize she also seemed annoyed. Right, with how she was playing this she had to act upset. Her expression changed to shock as she practically spun around. It looked like the only reason she didn't fall was the broom.
"Dead!? Mana's dead!? What do you mean by that!?"
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jul 9, 2010 1:47:30 GMT -5
Takahashi frowned. So, this girl knew the miko running the place. Well, 'course she did. She was wearing a miko outfit and practically looked like a clone of their dearly departed shrine maiden. He crossed his arms.
"I mean she got shot earlier today while trying to pull a hero move," Takahashi growled. "Went right through the heart; killed her instantly. I take it by your reaction that you knew her?"
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Post by mugenginga on Jul 9, 2010 1:55:36 GMT -5
Her eyes had widened to saucers as Takahashi went on with the explanation. She looked unstable on her feet. She was practically using the broom to stay upright. Her eyes looked a bit unfocused and she opened and closed her mouth several times. She looked almost like a fish. She shook her head and tears welled up in her eyes. She covered her face with one hand, and muttered something.
"Li-little sister..."
She was just hanging there. Izanami had put just enough volume on her words that Takahashi should have heard it. The miko looked like she was going to collapse to her knees any second. She sure as hell didn't look like she was part of a two way conversation, anymore...
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jul 9, 2010 2:05:52 GMT -5
And now Takahashi felt like a jerk. This part of the job was always kind of hard. After all, someone's loved one had just died. From the sound of things, this chick's younger sister, unless she was using the term as one of endearment.
"I know this must be hard, but in order to properly investigate your sister's death, I need to investigate this shrine," Takahashi said. He was walking a little closer to Sayuri as he spoke. "Did your sister have living quarters on shrine grounds or something?"
He was actually trying to be careful. People tended to break down in situations like this, and this girl looked close to doing so. It couldn't be helped, though. He was just trying to do his job.
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Post by mugenginga on Jul 9, 2010 2:12:48 GMT -5
Sayuri took a step back as Takahashi closed the distance. She tightened her grip on the broom. For a few seconds there, the man was probably very nervous for reasons all his own. After a moment though, the grip relaxed and she looked up. She shook her head and wiped at some tears with her sleeve.
"Sh-she's not... wasn't really my sister... We were cousins, but m-my aunt kind of raised us both..." She shook her head, "Y-yeah, I can take you there. We were sharing a room..."
Izanami actually rarely used the room, but it was there. The fact was, there was no way to tell no one actually lived on the grounds. The fridge was even lightly stocked. The room was even a bit less than perfectly organized, and the place felt lived in. She wasn't bad at deceiving people, far from it. Sayuri turned and began walking towards the proper building. Her broom was dragging on the ground and her head was hanging. She seemed to be in shock.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jul 9, 2010 3:38:16 GMT -5
Takahashi sighed as Sayuri began to lead the way to Mana's living quarters. The girl seemed to be in shock... well, who could blame her? The girl she practically considered her sister was now dead. And while people hoped that kind of cheap reincarnation was that common, it wasn't for normal people like them.
He sped up a bit to catch up with Sayuri, and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, we're going to find who caused this to happen and stop him, alright?" Takahashi said. He didn't know how reassuring that actually was, but it was worth a shot.
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Post by mugenginga on Jul 9, 2010 14:03:46 GMT -5
Sayuri tensed up as Takahashi's hand was on her shoulder and had herself half spun around before Takahashi spoke. As a result, all he got was little more than a bump in the arm with her broom. Her eyes widened as she seemed to realize what she'd almost done and she jerked her head away. Inside her head, Izanami was wondering if this characterization was... okay. It was magnified even for her avatar's personality, after all. She hoped it would be written off as shock as she began to walk forward again.
"No one saw the bullet being fired, then?" Sayuri hung her head again.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jul 9, 2010 14:14:40 GMT -5
Takahashi was really having to wonder about this girl. Her actions seemed forced and overblown, and while he could possibly write it off as shock, he wasn't inclined to think that. Not with the suspicious circumstances of things. Looked like this wasn't all that simple of a case after all.
"The only witness we know of is currently a suspect in the assault of an officer recently," Takahashi said. He thought of something and looked toward Sayuri. "Did your cousin ever mention someone named Seta Souji to you?"
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Post by mugenginga on Jul 9, 2010 14:27:39 GMT -5
Oh, this was just what she needed. A police officer who knew what the hell he was doing. She'd never liked this man. She was pretty sure Takahashi was aware of some of the dislike "Mana" had put in his direction. She turned around. Worse was that Souji was the witness. She'd seen his face, even after twenty years it was burned into her memories. It was part of why she'd come back. She knew it was perhaps vain to think that it had been more than what he'd given any of his friends...
"I only arrived on the Island a day ago. Mana didn't have a chance to do much besides get me settled in. I'm really very sorry..."
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jul 9, 2010 14:49:31 GMT -5
Takahashi frowned at her reaction. Only a day ago, huh? That was some rather convenient timing. Relatives typically couldn't find each other all that easily when they got dumped here, too. Considering that, Mana and Sayuri were both probably from a universe with active access to the Island.
"Did Mana say what she was going to do when she left today?" Takahashi asked. "Oh, and could you give me your name? For reference purposes, 'course."
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Post by mugenginga on Jul 9, 2010 14:57:08 GMT -5
Sayuri could feel the frown even with her back turned. More precisely, she realized her wording of things wasn't going well. She turned in time to see it as he moved on with his questioning. She averted her eyes as he asked the question. She could tell he found her suspicious. If they made the wrong leaps... well, she wasn't letting Souji get the blame for any of this. That much she knew.
"She said she was going into town. I didn't ask why... I should have. Dammit I should have!" Sayuri looked up as Takahashi asked her name, "Sh-shin Sayuri."
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Teddie stepped off the bus as it pulled into Bonsai. He'd been lucky enough to have some money on him, but he had no idea how he was getting back to Void City. It was just that after he'd seen Souji break down like that, he had to find a way to chew out Izanami. She was a goddess, right? Couldn't she have just gotten up? Souji was suffering because of her! He looked around until he saw the Shrine and headed towards it. He was in human form.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jul 9, 2010 15:16:22 GMT -5
Takahashi nodded at her name. That was an odd surname. He put the thought of that to the side as he spotted someone coming up the stairs. He frowned. That was that one blond kid he'd spotted hanging out with Seta that time before, and the one who'd saved him from where Adachi had pushed him that one time.
"Hey," Takahashi growled. "What are you doin' here?"
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Post by mugenginga on Jul 9, 2010 15:21:40 GMT -5
Teddie hadn't really been looking at much of anything. So when Takahashi growled at him, he jumped. He looked up and his eyes widened at who the man was. For a few moments, he looked panicked. He didn't want to say anything that could bother Sensei, after all. He fidgeted a bit before an honest answer finally came up in his head.
"I-I'm here to pray!"
Sayuri had paused as Takahashi stopped again. Did the man really want to see "Mana"'s room? She stood there looking confused until she heard that voice. She couldn't hide the half a second of surprise, but thankfully Takahashi's back was turned. It faded quickly, and the stairs meant even Teddie was too low to see it. She stepped forward and gave a bow towards Teddie. The blond looked like he'd seen a ghost.
"I-Izanami!?"
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