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The Third Case; Follow-up for "The Pusher" [Chika, Isoroku, Natsumi - Concluded]
Topic Started: Feb 20 2013, 05:50 PM (851 Views)
The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
This thread is a continuation of The Pusher.

---

Chika Nakadachi's weakness to physical attacks resulted in the fall injuring her quite a bit more than was readily apparent when Isoroku Mayoi came to her rescue at the shopping center. Although Isoroku had covertly healed both her head and her back, the there were numerous smaller fractures in multiple places alongside the two big ones. Quite a few ribs had broken, and there was a small matter of internal injury that might have killed her if it hadn't been caught by a member of the nursing staff, who happened to be a civilian Persona-user with minor healing and analysis magic.

The next day was Sunday--a day off. Her foster parents had rushed to her side the previous evening, she had explained what had happened, and now all that was left was to remain until her injuries healed to a point where the hospital would discharge her. Her broken arm and leg were both in a cast, but she had one good arm still, miraculously, with which she awkwardly held her copy of Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. She'd read through almost half the book since getting here. Most people would have gotten restless by now, but for Chika, sitting around and doing nothing wasn't much of an issue, as she spent a decent amount of time doing that anyway.

Her parents had dropped several of her books off for her, which sat on the bedside table. She also had her phone there, although it was turned off at the moment so as not to interfere with hospital equipment. Reaching for the books was awkward, since she had to do so without moving her ribs much.

What Chika didn't know was that her little accident had found its way into a small corner of the local papers. It wasn't the first such attack; earlier that week, a young boy had been pushed into moving traffic and killed; and a week before that, an elderly woman had been given a downhill shove on a backstreet road that had left her with a sprained ankle and scraped kneecaps, a passing car barely stopping in time to avoid running the poor woman over.

Chika was the third attempted murder case for what the papers were billing as the work of a single culprit, simply called "The Pusher." The paper was obviously playing it up for drama. That said, someone at the scene of Chika's accident had snapped a photo of the girl on the ground with Isoroku nearby. Their faces had been censored from the picture, but anyone who knew either of the two might have recognized them by their other features, and possibly by the fact that Chika wasn't picking up her phone and hadn't been on Bedlam since the morning before...
Edited by The One True Nobody, Feb 20 2013, 06:07 PM.
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Prince Arjuna
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-insert something witty here-

Isoroku decided to drop by after doing her book shopping. Thinking that Chika might need to read something while she's still in hospital, Isoroku bought Darren Shah: Cirque Du Freak for her. She wasn't sure whether buying a horror book was good or not, but at least there's something that Chika could read while recovering.

After getting Chika's number from the receptionist, she took the elevator before she finally reached the room. Taking a deep breath, Isoroku knocked the door, calling from the outside. "Chika-san, it's me," she said. She hoped that Chika could recognize her voice.
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The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
Chika looked up.

"Oh," she said, sounding mildly surprised. "I wasn't expectin'--"

She broke off, and set the book she was reading face-down on the bedside table. "...Hi, Isoroku-san, y'can come on in."
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Prince Arjuna
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-insert something witty here-

So, Isoroku opened the door and entered the room. She was clad in white sleeveless turtleneck shirt and black shirt, and she was seen holding a bag, which contained the books she bought earlier. As she entered the room, she gave Chika a smile. She was glad that she seemed fine.

"Good afternoon, Chika-san," Isoroku said with a warm smile. "I'm glad that you look alright now..." she walked closer to Chika's bed.
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The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
Chika watched Isoroku enter with a slightly dubious look on her face at first, which flickered once into something that looked like gratitude before returning to its usual blankness.

"...I'm doin' better," she said. "But my Persona's weak t' physical attacks so--well, the fall did more than it looked like, I think. I'm--thanks for comin'. And for helpin' me yesterday."

The redhead gestured at her copy of Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister--it was large, paperback, evidently an English-printed copy.

"Ya read that one?" she asked. "It's interestin'. Kind of an, um, inversion o' the Cinderella story. Where the ugly stepsister's the main character."
Edited by The One True Nobody, Feb 21 2013, 02:55 AM.
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Prince Arjuna
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-insert something witty here-

"It's alright. There's no need to thank me, Chika-san," Isoroku said as she moved to the seat. "After all, it's something that a person should do to others..."

She looked at the book titled Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, and smiled before she already read it. "Ah, this one..." she nodded. "I read it once. It's quite interesting, in my opinion..." and she paused before she continued. "And having the ugly stepsister as the main character is so refreshing for a story like this..." she nodded as she said that.

"Umm... may I sit?" she asked.
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The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
"Oh--sure, ya don't gotta ask," Chika said quickly, rubbing at her neck with her one operable hand. She'd been sat up by the nurses earlier, with pillows stacked against her back like seat cushions. "I, um, I'm kinda glad I took you up on gettin' into books and stuff, it's--it's nice t' be able to just get away from it all for a bit. Y'know what I mean?"

She shifted a bit.

"Easier not t' think o' the state I'm in or, or other things," she added evasively. "So apart from, well, what happened t' me... how's things?"
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Prince Arjuna
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-insert something witty here-

After Isoroku took her seat, she looked at Chika solemnly. "Well, I saw the news..." she told the girl. "There were two more cases similar to your own, with a young boy died after being pushed into moving traffic, and an elderly woman was injured after someone shoved her..." she told Chika. "And you're the third one..."

And she could feel her anger rising once again. To have such garbage doing such thing to people, that garbage needed to be stopped immediately.

"By the way," and she managed to calm herself down before she took out a book from her bag. "I have something for you. Here," she handed the girl a book, a copy of Darren Shah: Cirque Du Freak. "I hope you'll like it, Chika-san..."
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The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
"..."

Chika took the book, but didn't look at it immediately. Two prior cases, huh. So there was a serial killer, or, serial-pusher, or whatever, in Nagashima, huh.

"That's nothin' new," said Chika tonelessly. "That kinda thing happens all over the place. People decide they wanna know what it's like to, to have someone's life in their hands or... they wanna know what it's like to have power over 'em. To dominate 'em. And then they get a taste for it."

Chika shivered, just slightly, vague memories of cigarette burns, whip-lashes, and other less traditional tortures playing out in her head. She took a breath and willed those thoughts away.

"...It's like a drug to 'em, whoever's doin' this. They like the feelin' of power."

As she spoke, she recalled the feeling she had felt as she watched the dying mercenary who'd abducted Natsumi, twitching and convulsing and bleeding out on the ground. The pain she had caused him.

Chika shivered again. This time she also winced, for the motion sent a dull flare of pain through her right side.
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Prince Arjuna
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-insert something witty here-

"It's the sad truth of this world, Chika-san..." Isoroku said softly. "In this world, the strong preys on the weak, and nobody does a thing. Those who have powers will often abuse the power, and use the powers to hurt those who don't have them..." her voice sounded toneless and her blue eyes looked empty as she continued to speak. "The world is a rotten, wretched place, and there's nothing that can we do about it..."

Then, her expression reverted back to normal. "But still, we can make a slight difference, right?" she smiled. "Maybe it's hard for us to change other people, but we still can change ourselves. Instead of hurting others, we can help other people, right?" she said.
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