[BBS/Action] | If I have to sin to see you again...

[diehardreaper]

Posted:July 27, 11:34 AM
From: Baron Samedi

a. bbs; the Baron declares war

[ It starts with a message on the BBS]

I know one of you did it. One of you killed Rei Ryugazaki. I'm bloody well sure it was and I'm not going to stop til I find you, I swear on me scythe.

But there were others too, I know. I want anyone who knows anything about these murders to come forward. I want to hear everything you lot know and where we can start looking for the bastard to bring them to justice!

My name's Ronald Knox. I'll be waiting here if anyone wants to talk for your privacy's sake.

[ Included are directions to a quiet cafe tucked away in the sidestreets of Tokyo. ]

--

Who: Ronald Knox, Kuroyukihime, anyone who wants to talk about MURDERS~
When: July 27, 12am-6pm
Where: A small cafe in Tokyo
What: Ron wants answers and Hime needs a hug
Warnings: M U R D E R S

b. action; Not so shady dealings...

[ Anyone who decides to take Ron up on his offer is going to find him taking up one booth of said cafe, right in the corner with a cup of tea in front of him. It's gone cold and he's intently watching the door. Beside him sits a young lady, her dark hair shielding her face but her shoulders are shaking and her eyes are red. Hime isn't looking her best but she's trying. In front of her is a notepad, and a pen. Clearly she'll be taking notes.

But should anyone approach, Ron would be sure to address them, looking up at them before rising from his seat and motioning to the cushioned seat in front of them. ]

She's with me. Rei was... special to her and he was my shinki. If you've come to talk, there's nowhere better. I want to know everything.




[ ooc: both prompts are ota, either one will do. Answers may come from Ron (diehardreaper) or Kuroyukihime (papillonprincess). Please indicate who you want in the subject of your tag. ]

Comments

B - Ron

[deniles]

[He doesn't know what happened to Rei. He's not sure about any of the murders, except that he wonders if any fingers are going to be pointing his way with the trouble he's caused people.

He's not going to be thinking that. Instead, he wants to try and make Ron's life easier.

He enters the cafe, moving to the booth and holding up a bottle of bourbon as he moves beside it.]

Brought this for you. I have nothing to help, but at least you'll have something to enjoy.

text

[sharkmaid]

Where is he?

[Killed? That... doesn't seem right. It can't be right. ... How?]

How do you know this?

[diehardreaper]

[ He looks tired... but not so tired that he can't offer his friend a smile back. There's a pause as he inspects the bourbon knowing his godly counterpart would have appreciated this. ]

....Preciate the gesture, Niles. It'll be good to take the burn. Fancy splitting the bottle with me sometime?

text;

[diehardreaper]

I was his god. Didn't come home last night so I thought he'd spent the evening with the lady here.

When I woke up, his name was gone and Hime was banging on my front door. It was all over the news this morning apparently.

[ linked article from this morning's news ]

private text; afternoon of the 28th

[subtract]

How many of these murders have there been that you're aware of?

b, ron

[revolutionfalcon]

[Despite having met Ron a few times by now, Shun is cautious about the callout for information. There are parts of it he doesn't want spreading unchecked, and he can't entirely trust that things are going to be private if they're exchanged at a public cafe.

But in the first place, he'd agreed not to share certain details of the case. Collating the bits and pieces of evidence that had largely made it either to the network or out in rumour form, though, is a less risky matter, and he eventually settles on passing that much along.

Rather than risk hanging around outside and being seen if the murderer took notice of the meeting location as well, Shun teleports directly into the cafe, landing somewhere in the back. He scopes out the area quickly before heading over to the booth from the opposite direction to the door.

Shun spares the girl a glance, but little else as he sits down. He usually prefers not to, but it's a bit serious of a situation to be arguing about it.]

You're sure this place is free of eavesdroppers? [He doesn't sound at all perturbed by the possibility, his voice remaining neutral, but it's still rather low. Being overheard is extra trouble he'd rather not deal with.]

private text;

[diehardreaper]

To be perfectly honest, I dunno. I'd heard a bit of a muttering here and there. My loas let me know but now it's personal.

Why? What've you heard?

B - ota

[priforprince]

[ Some unfortunate kid has left their stuffed goat toy tucked behind a chair in this café. It's not really doing anything except staring at Ron and Kuroyukihime's table. ]

[papillonprincess]

[ It's Hime who notices the goat when she comes back from the washroom. She'd gone to wash her face, surprised by how red her eyes were. But something as innocent as a stuffed animal is enough to cause the tiniest smile. ]

Baron, I believe we have an audience.

[ "S'long as it isn't an ayakashi." ]

No.. I don't think so...

[ Though she will take it out from behind the chair and put it on the table. There. If the owner came back, they're sure to find it again. ]

[diehardreaper]

[ At least someone knows how to make an entrance. He takes his own seat though and nods, leaning against the couch and stretching his arm over the back. ]

Yeah, m'sure. I've been here enough to know who the regulars are to start. Anyone who's not one of us normally pays me no mind. So if there's anyone who actually notices m'here...

[ But he lowers his hand, fishing for his phone a moment before tapping out a message and placing the phone between them so the screen is visible. ]

Or do you want to talk this way instead?

[priforprince]

[ The goat does not respond to this thoughtful gesture, but it is sure to be appreciated.


....and several blocks away, at a completely different teahouse, there's a waitress wondering where this smashed teacup next to an empty table came fro--

oh, goodness, there's a guest there, she's so sorry, sir ]

[papillonprincess]

[ Hibiki, how many teacups have died at your hands this month?

But she returns to her corner next to the god and even though she's trying to get her bearings back, she seems... distracted.

"Having a wash did no good, eh?" ]

No... I do feel a little better. It's just that goat.

[ "What about?" ]

There's something familiar about it...

[priforprince]

[ Hime, you're imagining things. This is a perfectly unremarkable stuffed purple goat on a little rolly platform with very deep-seeming glass bead eyes.

It would be content to sit on this table while important conversations happened, especially if it were pointed in the direction of the speakers. But it won't insist. In fact, it won't do anything. ]

[revolutionfalcon]

[Knowing the regulars and picking out people noticing them aren't exactly methods Shun's willing to bank on, because feigning ignorance of their presence is still a possibility. So when Ron pulls out his phone and taps out the message, Shun looks over it before giving a short nod.

Pulling the phone towards him briefly, he deletes the original message, tapping out his own with deft fingers.]

Less of a risk. How much do you already know?

[With that quick remark typed, he turns the phone back around and pushes it towards Ron again. Shun's still keeping an eye on their surroundings every spare moment, out of habit if nothing else.]

[diehardreaper]

[ From beside them, Hime shoots Ron the smallest confused look... but if it's for privacy's sake, she'll leave it up to him to remember the important bits.

There's a pause though as Ron takes the phone back. It takes him a moment, as if to gather his thoughts before he passes the phone back. ]

I only know what my loa tell me, mind.
Not the whos. Just the whens. There's likely been about 7, I believe.
Didn't know any of the previous kills.
Just that this one's personal.

[papillonprincess]

[ At least the mystery of the goat is distracting her from her misery. It's the purple shade that's making her heart ache just a bit though so she tries to pay it no mind. It's the Baron's next question that snaps her out of her musing though.

"Had a talk with the police then, did you?" ]

I did. They'll be releasing Rei-kun's belongings as soon as they've... they've finished...

[ And she's getting misty eyed again, causing the Baron to pat her on the head. Maybe it was too soon to ask.

Uh... back to the goat. It seemed to give her something else to think about for a while.

"D'you think some kid left that thing?" ]

I... can't really say. Do you think it's from one of ours?

[ "Dunno. Know any goat gods?" ]

No... not really. Much less goat gods who leave familiars in cafes.

[priforprince]

[ The goat must be very modest, for it does not react at all to this gossip about it. It just sits there, persisting in its purpleness. Oh, how purple it is. Surely there are no other gods or shinki still in this world who insist on accessorizing in purple.

At the café a few blocks over, the person the waitress hadn't noticed frowns thoughtfully over her purple laptop, daubing her lips with a purple handkerchief. A few clicks, and she's making arrangements...."Baron Samedi" had called this meeting, hadn't he...

There. Ron will find a package on his doorstep the next morning. The tag says "Kuroyukihime" on it, and it contains a tasteful bouquet of mourning lilies, as well as a puzzle game. The sort that's very useful when one just wants to turn off the world and absorb oneself in the rhythm of fitting pieces together. ]

[deniles]

You know me. I'm always available for that.

[He chuckles, leaning against the table.]

Just call me when you want to, alright?

[papillonprincess]

[ Chalk it up to a happy coincidence but Hime didn't go home to her god's temple that night, deciding to stay over at the Baron's just to feel the presence of that boy one last time.

So she finds it a little surprising that someone else knows she's here. There's only one other person she's told... and surely if Loki got her something he'd wait until she got back.

But it's as she's putting the flowers in water that it clicks. The purple goat, the flowers...

It's a little past noon when Hibiki gets a text. ]

Thank you. You really do have eyes everywhere, don't you?

this is nigh-unprecedented. THE GOAT SURVIVED.

[priforprince]

[ That last statement is self-evident, so Hibiki won't acknowledge it. Instead, she thinks things over, then types her reply. ]

The sky will be waiting when you're prepared to unfurl your wings.

[ Take your time. For one of her Princesses, she can be patient. She has a duty to them, after all, to make them shine. They cannot shine with this shadow blackening the Far Shore.

It is for you, as well - for everyone - that she plans her Revolution. ]

[revolutionfalcon]

[It's up to Ron what he does with the information after Shun passes it on, so he figures the girl will get it one way or another if she wants it. He makes no move to make it easier for her to see, in any case.

As Shun reads over the text, there's a brief nod of understanding as Shun remembers what Ron had told him about the loa once before. It takes him a bit longer to type back this time, though it's largely because of message length.]

It's 7. Two around the 5th, two around the 10th, two around the 18th, and now this. Most likely another in the next day or two. One of the first victims came back with the last group of newcomers, remembers the murder but didn't see who did it. Last two before this one were a god named Johan Anderson and a shinki named Venus. Didn't know the others.

It survives to stalk another day!

[papillonprincess]

[ It's little things like this which make her feel better. At least she isn't alone... and at least there's someone looking out for her -- kind of. For all the airs and dramatics, Hibiki's got some heart to her.

But no... that doesn't quite sit right with her. Time to mourn is necessary but sitting around being miserable never does anyone any good. ]

Rest assured I have no intention of letting this keep me grounded very long. If you need for me to fly, you need only ask.

It's what he would have wanted.

[diehardreaper]

You sound like the right company for it too. But I'll be sure to take you up on that offer. Though I've a lady to keep an eye out for today.

[ A small jerk of his head to the girl next to him who just manages to shoot a dry look back. But you have his attention. ]

So what brings you about? Just came to drop off a bottle? In the area and came to say hello?

[diehardreaper]

[ This time he makes an effort to show Hime the message. She looks it over and nods but does nothing more, deciding to leave it up to Ron to respond. ]

Matches up to what I heard.
So this bloke's MO seems to be to kill in pairs.
No pattern to the number of days apart or the way they die either.
It's like he's going at random.
Any clues though? Eyewitness accounts?

[revolutionfalcon]

[Reading over the message, Shun nods once again to confirm the general points Ron's made. It's at least easier to type about the next part than it is to talk, even if the lines around Shun's eyes tighten a little as he does.]

No eyewitnesses to the murders or we would've caught him by now. I found Johan Anderson's body. Decapitated, half with a knife and half by brute force, head displayed in a nearby tree, blindfolded after his death for some reason. Footprints of around twenty-seven centimeters length between the body and head. Large hand bruises on the face. Obvious brute strength to have torn off a head. Would've needed to be at least five foot seven/170cm to place it in the tree. Footprints could mean it's a shinki or someone trying to frame one.