[BitP:R] Mortal World 2

[Steilos]

"..."

Henry just stands, listening to Haruaki and watching the travesty unfold before his eyes. There is no way under God's Earth that this isn't going to end badly. 20 yen says there's at least 6 people blushing at the end of it.

[strawberryman]

Valeria blinks rapidly. This was certainly not something you see every day. She idly looks to Henry... what was the detective from yesterday doing here...?

[Kasanip]

Sayaka

Haruaki steps back to let Ken pet Ayase's ears.

"Well Inspector, it maybe a little awkward for old people like us to intrude on the meeting. But we are famous for helping those people with needs." He smiles with more serious.

"Let's go inside then. Sayaka can talk to her friends. And our new monster cat." He makes a wink to Ayase.

It seems he must know the talisman fell.

Sayaka with a red face greets the arrived students.

"Welcome. I hope everyone was ok last night."

[KnightDisciple]

[Houheiden Shrine]

Kaito blinked at the situation, then frowned.

"Ken, why the hell are you petting Ayase like a cat?"

He shook his head.

"Never mind, let's just get inside."

[Steilos]

"Agreed."

Henry follows Haruaki when he goes inside.

[nothingclever]

Ken's eyes rose to meet Kaito's. "Ayase?" he said quizzically as he continued to stroke the "monster cat" absentmindedly, a look of mock befuddlement plastered on his face. "This is Heart Angel, the Warrior of Pure Love." He shifted his view towards her again for a moment. "You'd think he'd remember your name when it's only been a day since you rescued him from certain doom." Ken followed the others inside.

[KnightDisciple]

Ken's eyes rose to meet Kaito's. "Ayase?" he said quizzically as he continued to stroke the "monster cat" absentmindedly, a look of mock befuddlement plastered on his face. "This is Heart Angel, the Warrior of Pure Love." He shifted his view towards her again for a moment. "You'd think he'd remember your name when it's only been a day since you rescued him from certain doom." Ken followed the others inside.

[Houheiden Shrine]

Kaito stopped in place, turned, and glared at Ken.

"I'm not in the mood, Ken. She hindered as much as she helped. All of us fumbled to some degree. Sayaka was the only one who knew what she was doing. But don't try this crap on me. It's plain who she is. If you want to call her "Heart Angel", or some other nonsense, fine. But don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about, because I'm damn well not in the mood."

Kaito turned back, stalking inside, the door opening before he had a chance to touch it. He was clearly not in a good mood.

[nothingclever]

Ken rolled his eyes, grinned and chuckled softly. "Oh no, I'm sooo scared." He was clearly not the slightest bit concerned about the mood this bore was in.

[Prime32]

Heart Angel snaps out of her trance when Ken stops petting her. Denden may or may not have heard the conversation that took place, but she did not.

She realises that Ken is going in, and follows.

[Dorizzit]

Houheiden Shrine
Exterior

Nakahiro cracks a wide smile at Ken's fun with Ayase's alter ego antics, although he doesn't allow Kaito to see, knowing how much his friend hates the entire concept. He nods to Ken as he follows Kaito into the shrine, looking around himself as he does so.

[Terry576]

[Sora's Cemetery]

Sora mutters as he kicks a gravestone. Apart from the shocking display of destruction, the gravestone creates a nice little portal downwards, which Sora proceeds down.

He forgets to close the door.

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Cemetery]

From a tree a little ways away, Silva sees this happen.

What do you think, Medric. Hollow?

Yep. Sounds like we're gonna have some fun. Silva can almost hear him smiling.

She rolls her eyes, and then quietly makes her way to the opening, hand on her dagger.

[Purple Rose]

[Takara]

Takara!... should be with the others.... -_- Why is she not with the others? Oh, right. Because she spent the night designing posters that she printed at school and hung throughout the halls.

Takara's Club for the Hunting and Documenting of Paranormal Activity!

Meeting under the Old Rock Friday at 5pm! Bring your own supplies! Only come if you have experience talking to ghosts or really want to!

And where is she now, then? Well... Presently she is sitting under a large tree on the side of a hill that overlooks her house, eating some tasty treat with Erima, paying her back for dragging her around all day.

[Kasanip]

Sayaka

Sayaka stopped at the door and turned to stop Kaito, but she looked at everyone.

"No fighting is allowed here." She said very seriously. It was silent for a moment. "If you have a dispute or bad words, then remove them outside. Wait a minute and make yourself calm." She said.

Haruaki stopped behind Sayaka and put a hand on her shoulder. His mood was serious now- and maybe that was a shock enough to surprise the others.

"She is correct. Before you step through another barrier, please remember. This is a Shrine - you are on ground that is sacred. But now you will step into our home. Our discussion is serious, but let's not say things we may regret."




Sayaka's cool expression does not become surprised by this.


Of course her father must be serious.
Otherwise Sayaka would not have learned such a manner.


A shrine maiden and priest step inside.



Erima
[With Takara]

Ice cream for summer is a good treat. For a certain tsukumogami, it is a shield from 'heat exhaustion' and so a content feeling as Erima shared with Takara a cold food.

While Takara had been making posters at night, Erima was sleeping peacefully on her bed.

Of course, she had to help to hang posters at school (Erima's 'first day' ), but Takara had bought ice cream, so Erima had no wish to make a complaint.

"Takara? Is this kind of club really going to work?" She asked. "Certainly there are many strange things to see in this world, but I don't think there are 'Old Rock.'"

[KnightDisciple]

[Houheiden Shrine]

Kaito stopped an listened to the priest and his daughter speak.

"I wasn't told beforehand that I had to be "clear of negative emotions" or some such. And I'm not fighting. I'm simply expressing reality, and a bit of my opinion on it."

He does, however, take a moment to take a few calming breaths, and seems to relax slightly.

"That's the best you're going to get out of me for a while. This isn't exactly a stress-free couple of days. Now, can we perhaps sit down and get some explaining going?"

[Dorizzit]

[Houheiden Shrine]
Transition

Nakahiro pauses to listen to Sayaka and her father's emphasis on the shrine's nature as holy and peaceful, but doesn't seem to need any time to calm down or relax before entering the house after them.

[Kasanip]

Sayaka and Haruaki
[Houheiden Shrine]

Haruaki raised an eyebrow.

"It is not of no negative emotions I mean. What you view as reality may be different from what it is. I think yesterday's example may be a good point of this. "

He looked around as he led them to the main room, and even it smelled like incense. Sayaka walked to the kitchen and returned with ice tea for everyone.

"But more... I know some of you are feeling scared, stressed, or even angry, but if you don't know how to control your feelings, how will you learn to control your power? And if you cannot do that, how can you defend yourself or those you love?

I am sure you reflected on such a thought last night. Now, you have prepared yourselves to have that thing you call 'reality' ripped away from you."

He gestured for everyone to sit.

"Now...where shall we begin? Sayaka told me what happened yesterday... But I am sure you have many questions, and the Inspector here perhaps has something as well to ask?"

[Frozen_Feet]

[Cemetery]

After a brief walk, Õta Yui finally arrived on her destination. Hands behind her back, she walks among the headstones, admiring varied flower arrangments brought to them by scrupulous relatives. It's nice to see living manage to put aside some time to honor dead, even during these hectic times.

Her mood is soured when she stumbles upon a headstone with its topped kicked off. A quick glance reveals several more headstones bearing some damage, and even one completely knocked down! Hmmphh! Cursed vandals! Yui frowns and crosses her arms on her chest as she wonders who the culprit might have been.

[Terry576]

[Cemetery]

After a brief walk, Õta Yui finally arrived on her destination. Hands behind her back, she walks among the headstones, admiring varied flower arrangments brought to them by scrupulous relatives. It's nice to see living manage to put aside some time to honor dead, even during these hectic times.

Her mood is soured when she stumbles upon a headstone with its topped kicked off. A quick glance reveals several more headstones bearing some damage, and even one completely knocked down! Hmmphh! Cursed vandals! Yui frowns and crosses her arms on her chest as she wonders who the culprit might have been.

Sora sneezes loudly.

A nice "ACHOO" emits from the only set of stairs downwards in the cemetery.

He shrugs and continues walking.

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Silva]

Silva pauses when she hears the sneeze. She's about halfway down the stairs at this point.

She waits for a moment, listening. Then she quietly continues.

[Terry576]

[Sora]

Sora reaches the bottom of the steps.

There's a bed there, and a small room. Filled with books, mostly on the Spirit World.

He goes and picks up one. It's titled "How I Did It" By Eyes En.

[nothingclever]

Ken
[Houheiden Shrine]

(OOC: Well it's been a while without responses so I guess I'll guess start the questions.)

Ken decided to speak up first and get straight to the heart of things. "How about starting off with what you began explaining to me yesterday, the nature of hollows and their origins? I'm also interested in what keeps them under control because it seems to me like there must be something keeping them in check and I wonder why we have powers yet most people don't."

[Kuroimaken]

Today is a very special day for a very important man.

Despite the clear skies, his soul is cast as black as granite. For today is the anniversary of the death of Mitsurugi Reiji's parents.

The prosecutor holds a bouquet of flowers for each of the conjoined graves, as well as incense to light up for both of them. Kneeling by their graves, he begins the solemn activity of honoring their memories.

[KnightDisciple]

Ken
[Houheiden Shrine]

(OOC: Well it's been a while without responses so I guess I'll guess start the questions.)

Ken decided to speak up first and get straight to the heart of things. "How about starting off with what you began explaining to me yesterday, the nature of hollows and their origins? I'm also interested in what keeps them under control because it seems to me like there must be something keeping them in check and I wonder why we have powers yet most people don't."

Kaito has made himself comfortable, and his expression has gone from "annoyance" to "intense focus", an expression more typical of the bright young man.

"Really, a quick overview of things like Hollows, spirits, and so on would be good. A broad picture, so that we know what detailed questions to ask. Right now I feel like we have only a small portion of the overall tapestry here."

[Callos_DeTerran]

Michiko

The delinquent girl had woken up early after sleeping over, but had kept to herself for the most part in preparing for the day ahead, school, and so on. Best not to let others see the apprehension brewing beneath the surface. Especially not once she had returned to the Shrine and had gone inside to wait for any others who might show up.

Until she saw that detective out the door talking to the other students and her heart froze. Maybe he wouldn't recognize her. It had been dark, she hadn't been in uniform, she had a helmet on, and it was just before her bi-monthly re-dying so the purple had been rather faded...But purple hair wasn't exactly common either. Best to be safe.

'Safe' turned out to be waiting until all the commotion started and edging into the hallway out of sight, listening carefully to know where to go to remain as such. It was a bit of a hassle, but the end result was she could still listen to the muffled voices and wasn't going to get herself (or Yuudai and Sayaka) into trouble by causing a fuss with her presence. Instead, in her hiding place, she listens patiently for this most peculiar discussion.

[Frozen_Feet]

[Cemetery]

Wind carries a muffled sneeze to Yui's ears. Puzzled, she tilts her head, and walks closer to the source of the sound. It seems to be the knocked-over headstone... as she gets nearer, she notices the stairwell leading into the ground. Faint foot steps echo from the opening.

Stange. Could the desecrator still be inside the mausoleum? What a great chance to catch uppity youths red-handed and maybe give them a good scare while at it! Careful to not make any sound, Yui sneaks down the stairs.

She blinks when the tunnel opens to what seems to be a small bedroom. It only adds to her bemusement that out of the two persons present in the cave, the one with red hair seems to be someone she knows. To think of it, I did see her nearby yesterday, Yui thinks even as she calls the person in question out loud to confirm her suspicion.

"Silva-san? Is it you?"

[Terry576]

Sora looks up, then gapes for a second.

"What the...? Why are you two in here? What the hell's going on?"

He stands up, dropping the book by Eyes En.

His hand crackles with energy, and that old aura emerges.

"Get out."

[Frozen_Feet]

[Cemetery - Sora's hideout]

Yui raises an eyebrow as malicious Reiatsu flows out from Sora, then narrows her eyes, crosses her arms again, and taps the ground with the right foot. "What do you think you are doing, young man?", she asks with all authority an older woman can muster over a teenage boy.

In other words, bloodshot eyes, sharp teeth, pallid skin and aura of terror do not prevent Sora from imagining his mother in Yui's place for a moment. Angry mother.

[Terry576]

Sora's reiatsu fades, and he shuffles awkwardly.

"Well... You two are here, and this is kind of my private space..."

Oddly enough, he seems to be avoiding eye contant.

[Wahrheit]

All things considered, it had been a pretty dull, uneventful day, Rex reflected as he trudged up the stairs to his fourth-floor apartment. Sure, there had been a Hollow incursion, but as far as he knew it hadn't been serious, and his perspective on such things was a bit warped anyhow. Still, the day had been unusual enough to warrant a feeling of relief as he waved to the sweet old lady living in the apartment next door, unlocked the drab grey door at the end of his drab grey hallway, and stepped inside.

His apartment was tiny, little more than a hotel room, really. He had a kitchenette that he could barely work in (much to his dismay), a similarly-cramped bathroom, and a combined living/dining/bedroom. Still, it was home.

Rex tossed his cowboy hat onto the couch and pretty much collapsed onto his bed to ease off his boots. When he flipped the TV on it was still on the random channel he'd reached before conking out to sleep the night before, now showing some weird game show involving tongue twisters and contestants getting hit in the crotch.

I'm never gonna understand the culture here. Rex sighed and channel surfed for a while, but nothing caught his interest. Instead, he found himself fidgeting with his pocketknife and checking the clock every thirty seconds or so, unable to relax. Damnit, Rex, what's wrong with you? That Hollow kid ain't a problem. He can be dealt with. And there's other Quincy around, too. Ah, screw it.

Rex stood and, after making sure his door was locked and curtains were drawn, put his hand to his hip, closed his eyes, and focused. The world around him faded away, becoming a bright tracery scattered in the darkness like city lights at night. The star hanging at his wrist began to glow crimson, softly at first, intensifying into a glaring orb of reiryoku. As he raised his hand, slowly settling into a firing stance, the reiryoku shifted, gradually reshaping itself into a glowing revolver composed of red light. Rex opened his eyes, took several deep breaths as he maintained the revolver for five seconds, released it, and restarted the whole process after a five-second wait.

Ten minutes later, Rex was focused, more relaxed, and thoroughly exhausted. He released Schreiender Adler one last time from shaking hands and wandered into his kitchen. He still had some ground beef in his tiny fridge... cooking something would help. I shoulda expected I'd get a bit homesick sometimes. Gotta just make do with what I have, right? As he started the preparations to cook some chili, he realized something horrific: he was out of cumin. Figures. Maybe there's a grocer or someone still open. Else I think I'm gonna break somethin'.

Rex pulled his boots back on, plopped his ever-present hat back atop his head, and ventured out into the evening in search of spices.