thenearshore | [closed] nothing suspicious here

Entry tags:

[closed] nothing suspicious here

Who: Chikusa Kakimoto and Sharak Sanzo
What: M30, also known as eavesdropping on the local white-clad shinki
When: October 7
Where: The Central District of the Heavens

If there's one thing Chikusa appreciates about the Central District, it's that it has plenty of places to hide if one knows what they're doing. And Chikusa does.

There are plenty of trees about in the Central District, however maintained and decorative they are. That's really all he needs. In the months before, Chikusa has always been aware of how he can be quiet, undetectable, when he really wants to be. Now, while not complete, he has some scattered memories of doing very much the same in the all too dangerous underworld where the mafia ruled.

If he can do so there, then he has no doubt he can do so here.

This means doing his best to keep out of sight of Sharak as well, honestly. Chikusa only has her reputation from Hakkai to go on, and her aura of being a leader. What are her acting skills like? He has no idea. Anyway, if he knows he's out of her perception, then surely that will count for the shinki patrols here as well... Or at least she'll have some sort of alibi.

He's willing to be flexible.

Either way, he puts all of his skill into shadowing Sharak, especially as a patrol of white-clad shinki become visible in the distance.

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[For all her many talents, going unnoticed has never been one of Sharak Sanzo's strong suits. Between preferring a direct method of combat and being the kind of leader everyone needs to look to, she's never had to learn. Rather than fight it, embracing the strange something about her that just attracts peoples eyes has worked better for her purposes so far. If she could get away with painting a bullseye on her back, she would, but the sutra on her shoulder usually does the trick anyway.

In the end, she doesn't even try to copy Chikusa's example and vanish. She doesn't even try to look for him herself. Instead, Sharak just walks down the center of the path in plain sight, with the kind of confidence and regality that you'd expect from a god residing in the Central District.

The fact that she doesn't is not the point.]

Excuse me- [She approaches the shinki directly, with a polite and yet authoritative tone that indicates that she expects their complete attention, and raises a hand to indicate that they should stop walking.] I have something that requires your attention.

[The pair of shinki had already straightened up to seem more respectful and at attention when someone had been seen with such authority, but actually being addressed seems to catch them off-guard. At least, the younger of the two seems so, while the older woman between the two nods respectfully.]

And what would that be, Lady...?

[There are a lot of different gods that area always changing in the Far Shore these days, and the Central District itself has definitely started to see more new arrivals. It's hard to keep track of them all, especially when that's not their main duty.]

Aditi.

[Normally, she'd refrain from using that title when she much prefers Sharak Sanzo. However, Aditi carries more weight here than Sanzo. She's not too proud to use the tools at her disposal.]

Lady Amaterasu told me than anything suspicious I saw should be reported to you- though I don't know how relevant this is to your investigation. Is the person you're looking for a young woman? She was causing trouble the night of the moon viewing, I know, and I thought I saw her this morning by an abandoned temple in the Northwest district. When I tried to approach her, she vanished.

[About half of that is true and Sharak highly doubts that they're looking for who she described. But it gives them room to correct her.]

A woman? [Sure enough, the younger shinki seems a little confused at the information, which can confirm one thing for Sharak at least. Certainly Chikusa takes note from where he's hidden.]

[The senior merely shakes her head.] I'm afraid that's not someone we've been informed about. Still... [She considers something for a moment.] Could you tell us more about this woman you saw?

[So, not a woman. Probably male, possibly not an adult, but they haven't given her more than that. Oh, well.]

She has long red hair. I'm afraid I'm not sure what better description to give... It's a little difficult, when we haven't been told what to watch out for specifically. [Sharak tilts her head thoughtfully.] Perhaps she's connected to the person you're looking for? Or people, I suppose.

[The younger shinki holds her tongue, still watching her elder from the corner of her eye for any leads on how to approach this. Fortunately, after a moment, she speaks up.]

We'll keep an eye out for her, thank you. If you see her in the presence of a young boy, we request that you tell us. It would be helpful.

[Jackpot. Well, not really, but it's still something. Sharak's eyebrows furrow in concern very convincingly.]

A young boy? Is there a missing child? [There'd been a boy at the moon-viewing that no one had recognised, bumping into everyone all evening...] Of course I'll be sure to tell you. Is he one of the missing gods?

[The old gods have perfectly understandable reasons for occasionally being young children, after all. Young shinki are so depressing. She doubts they've found a lead that interesting, but it's a good leading question.]

Oh, no. [This time it's the junior shinki, who makes sure that her elder has no objections before she continues.] We have yet to be sure of where he's from... but he shouldn't be in the Heavens, you see.

[The elder shinki adds-] The woman you've described sounds like a god. [If she can teleport, and all.] If it's through her temple that he came through, we'd like to ask her about that.

[Putting it quaintly.]

[Sharak tilts her head thoughtfully. Neither god nor shinki then... ]

How do you know he isn't meant to be here? New gods and shinki appear all the time. You couldn't have missed one?

[It's a train of thought that allows her time to think about whether or not she should throw another woman she's never met under the bus for something like this. She definitely doesn't owe her any favours. Not to mention, if the woman's smart and actually uninvolved, it will just lead to her and the shinki becoming confused and frustrated. No real trouble.]

... I think I saw a conversation on the network asking after her. She responded with the username "Kali".

[Hopefully Grell leaves the chainsaw out of any conversation that comes up.]

We keep track of everyone who arrives at the Meeting Hall-!

[The younger shinki seems almost offended at the accusation, but her senior waves her down, much calmer.]

We've been thorough. As far as we can tell, he isn't a god of any standing, and he is not the shinki of any god. That's part of the problem. [Only gods, whether new or old, along with their shinki, should be in the Heavens. A weary sigh leaves her along with an admission.] With that being the case, he's likely not here any longer, either. Still, we have to remain vigilant. I'm sure you understand, Lady Aditi.

[Sharak nods apologetically.]

I'm sure you do your very best to keep track of everyone who arrives in the Heavens. [Whether or not they succeed. Clearly their security needs some work, since it failed. That's undeniable.]

Naturally, you're concerned, and so are the rest of us- who knows when the next attack might be, after all? But if you don't know when he arrived, how can you be so sure he's already left?

We've been searching for quite some time and have seen nothing out of the ordinary. [She shakes her head again.] Now, we're mainly making sure he or anyone else doesn't sneak in once more.

Still, we will make sure to look into your observations on the Lady Kali. It is appreciated.

How frustrating.

[Sharak bows slightly now- not too deeply, she is a goddess addressing shinki, after all. But enough to convey some respect.]

Thank you for your diligence all the same. The next time I see Lady Amaterasu, I'll have to be sure to congratulate her on having such dedicated guards.

[And ones so willing to talk to her. It's very helpful.]

Ah- thank you. [The murmur comes from the younger shinki, some of her earlier temper cooled, and the elder nods respectfully back.]

Thank you once again for your concern.

[With that, the two take their leave to continue on their patrol... with a certain teenager in close pursuit. Hopefully Sharak is willing to be patient, because it may take him a while to get back to her.]

[Sharak waits two seconds and then calmly turns to walk in the opposite direction of the shinki. She doesn't look around for anything or anyone and her expression doesn't change for a moment.

Once she's out of sight of the shinki, her demeanour instantly changes to one of resigned annoyance. She sits down on a nearby bench, stretches out her arms and cracks her neck. Then, it's immediately on to lighting a cigarette. Damn, being respectful is exhausting. She's just going to relax here until Chikusa decides to deign her with his presence.]

[It takes a little while- perhaps half an hour, including sneaking around- before Chikusa slips out from the foliage and dusts himself off, including his brown ear-flap beanie.]

The older one dismissed your issues about Kali... but you impressed the younger one. Congrats.

[Still stretched out, smoking on the bench, Sharak looks at the beanie for a moment. It's a nice hat.]

I'm honoured. [She has the approval of some random shinki. Yay.] I suppose it doesn't matter if they don't care about Kali, I mentioned her to get them talking. It did it's job.

[Though it's rather telling that the matter was just dismissed, even if they are right that Kali probably has nothing to do with their investigation.]

I guess so.

[He nods to the area around them.]

Do you want to keep talking here...? [His paranoia says they should retreat to somewhere more private, and, frankly, one can never have too much of that when it comes to the important things.]

The scenery here is kind of boring.

[She holds out her hand for Chikusa to take. She really does appreciate a healthy dose of paranoia in a young man. She can see why Hakkai's so fond of him.]

We can find somewhere more comfortable, I'm sure.

["Somewhere more comfortable" no doubt meaning her temple, but that's fine. Anywhere that's away from the Central District, or any prying ears. Once they've teleported, and the jerk in his stomach fades, Chikusa glances around only for a moment to assess their surroundings before he speaks up.]

...On different times, I also heard that the intruder they're looking for had to arrive before the moon viewing. So.... the one at the moon viewing party. They think he's the one responsible for what happened.

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[closed] nothing suspicious here

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