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| That Night, At the Lake... And Other Things; [Toru, Benkei - Closed] | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 15 2013, 09:51 PM (509 Views) | |
| The One True Nobody | Jul 15 2013, 09:51 PM Post #1 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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Kiyoko Yukimura stepped up the walk of her house--the house in which she lived with her mother, alone. It would be empty, she knew. Mother was out working for now and wouldn't be back for quite some time. Her jobs were small-time and low-pay, but with just the two of them there it was manageable, barely. Kiyoko worked a part-time job, too, but today was her day off, so she had every intention of just... going inside, flopping down in bed, and watching one of the old cassette movies she'd managed to buy a while back off one of the neighbors in her old neighborhood. The house was fairly nice, if a little small. When she opened the door, she saw the same empty sitting room as always--a table with mats around it and a very small television, which Kiyoko herself had paid for--and the door that led to the kitchen. She immediately diverted through another doorway, off to the side of the front door, that led into a short hall with three doors and a closet beyond. One of the rooms was Kiyoko's, one was her mother's, and the other was a bathroom. Kiyoko's room was small--there was a futon, a low coffee table on which a bundle of unfolded, multicolored origami lay (a volunteer job she did for a local orphanage), and a second, even smaller television with an old VCR. She walked over to her cassette shelf, picked out a monster movie, and popped it into the VCR. She fell asleep on the futon before it was even twenty minutes in. --- Toru Motou held up his phone and double-checked the address, and then looked to the house they now stood beside, a small home that might have rivaled some mid-range multi-bedroom apartment rooms in terms of overall size from where he was standing. The two had been in Osaka for several days, now; the actual process of trying to find information on Nishiyo Sadako or Amaya Toyama had proved problematic. Amaya's mother hadn't been very helpful at all, although she'd been more than willing to talk--if there was a word Toru would describe the whole encounter with, it was anger. Amaya's mother had been quite willing to help if it meant justice might be wreaked upon Amaya's killer... and she had also spoken with much venom about Kyo Charinko. Nothing of substance, but--just enough to indicate that perhaps the ability to hold and act on a grudge might have been somewhat of a genetic trait. It was Toru's inquiries at Nishiyo Sadako's high school that had borne the most fruit. They had the right place, alright. The journalist, dressed as professionally as ever, looked to his companion. "Here we are, the residence of miss Kiyoko Yukimura. According to a teacher at Sadako-san's high school, she was often seen with Nishiyo-san, walking home after school and the like, along with several girls who were rumored to be of ill repute. My source says Kiyoko-san lives alone with her mother and most mysteriously never reaped the same... financial benefits the others did. Most mysterious." The journalist stopped outside the door and turned to Benkei. "She works part-time jobs most days, so today is probably the only convenient time to speak with her on the matter..." he said quietly. His eyes drifted up and down the street as he spoke. It wasn't quite on par with the Nagashima backstreets, but this neighborhood was... far from pleasant to look it. The worn-down fences and small houses spoke of occupants without much time or money to invest in making their places of residence things to be proud of. It reminded Toru of Masumi's descriptions of the home she and her ex-husband had shared... The journalist turned back to the door and knocked three times. There was no immediate answer. On her futon in the other room, Kiyoko snorted in her sleep and opened her eyes, the sound of monsters wrecking low-budget model cities indistinct in her awareness... someone was at the door? Dammit. A solicitor, probably... |
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| Nonsequitur | Jul 15 2013, 10:05 PM Post #2 |
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Yellow Bubblegum
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Whether it was the circumstances for why they came, or the fact that he had to go face to face with Amaya's mother after she lost another one of her children, but Benkei found that Osaka had not agreed with him. It hadn't agreed with him one bit. "Ah, I think I follow you." He said, scratching the back of his neck as he walked. Unlike Toru, Benkei didn't feel the need to dress nicely for this. Jeans and an unbuttoned red flannel shirt, sleeves rolled up and worn over a white tank top was sufficient for him. So, if he thought about it, this Kiyoko chick probably had something of a falling out with Nishiyo. Not a proper one, if he's still thinking she's the murdering type, but enough for her to leave her behind. It still meant she was their best lead after coming all this way. He stood aside the journalist, hands in his jeans pockets, a stern glower on his face that had seemed to just be Benkei's neutral expression from there on out. |
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| The One True Nobody | Jul 15 2013, 10:25 PM Post #3 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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Toru waited a bit, and then knocked again. His answer this time was an irate yell, muffled from inside by not just the door but a hallway and a bedroom: "Whatever you're sellin', we ain't got the money t' buy it! Shoo!" The journalist blinked, cleared his throat, and called back: "Miss, I am not a solicitor. My friend and I were informed that you might be able to tell us something about a friend of yours who moved to Nagashima recently! Does the name 'Nishiyo Sadako' ring a bell?" Toru stepped back from the door almost immediately. As he'd predicted, there was a shuffling on the side that drew nearer; he also heard what sounded like a television being turned off. The door opened and a blond girl in a very plain-looking grey school dress stood on the other side, her eyes flitting from Toru to Benkei and back again. "Don't say that name so loud," she snapped. Looking as though she wanted to poke her head over their shoulders so she could visually confirm that no one had heard them, she moved to close the door. "I ain't got nothin' t' do with her anymore, so just... leave me alone, yeah?" Toru, however, had set his foot slightly inside the door, preventing it from closing all the way. "Please, Yukimura-san, hear us out," he said quietly. "A young woman was recently murdered and we believe Nishiyo Sadako to be the culprit. I have reason to believe you may know her true disposition, or am I wrong?" The door stopped an inch from being closed. Kiyoko stood on the other side of it, peeking out with one eye, one eye that looked stricken and almost terrified. "I don't run with her no more," she said quietly. "I don't know nothin', I swear." |
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| Nonsequitur | Jul 15 2013, 10:37 PM Post #4 |
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Yellow Bubblegum
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He was losing patience, just a bit. He shoved against the door to keep it open with one hand as she protested. "We have come a long-ass way for this. That's not good enough for me." He growled, but he took a deep breath, and started again. "The woman killed was Amaya Toyama. I understand she was pretty tight with she-who-must-not-be-named. What I wanna know is…no, what I need to know is why." Slowly, he pulled back from the door. "Please? Just gotta ask a few questions and you'll never see either of us again." |
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| The One True Nobody | Jul 15 2013, 11:12 PM Post #5 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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Kiyoko's eyes widened. "She--wait, what? She killed Amaya? But those two usedta be thick as thieves," she said, quietly incredulous. She looked from Benkei to Toru, and then back again. "...Aight, but you guys're outta here by the time my mom gets back in two hours, we square? I don't want her knowin' I was ever involved in any o' this..." The girl stepped back from the door, opening it to allow the two men entry. Toru stepped in, nodding gratefully as he slipped of his outdoor shoes. "We don't have a couch and sorry, but I ain't offerin' ya a drink, we don't have much t' spare for hospitality," Kiyoko said quietly, as she walked to the center of the sitting room and sat herself down on a mat by the table. "Have a seat if ya want, or stand, whichever." Toru gratefully smiled and sat cross-legged on a mat across the table from Kiyoko, extracting his pen and notepad from an inside jacket pocket. "Thank you for indulging us, Yukimura-san. We won't impose any longer than is necessary... now, if you don't mind, there is another girl involved in this crime... the murder was arranged so as to frame one Kyo Charinko, who I am to understand Amaya Toyama had a grudge against. Would you be able to tell us whether Sadako-san had a grudge against Charinko-san as well...?" But Kiyoko's eyebrows crinkled up together. "Huh? Kyo Charinko? No, she was a piece o' work like nothin' else, goin' around seducin' people's boyfriends, but Nishiyo gave up tryin' t' off her when she found out her info was bad. Bicycle didn't do anything. That time." Kiyoko shuddered a bit. "Didn't stop Nishiyo from tryin' t' off her when she thought Bicycle was the one who'd fucked with her, though. I--was sorta involved in that. I dunno how Bicycle survived, maybe one o' the others got cold feet, but--but Nishiyo paid off her boyfriend t' call her out to a lake at night and--and she had these other two girls we hung with tie her up. Toss her in the lake. Stuck a plastic tube down her throat, made these smartass comparisons between that and a dick, and--well, I didn't see it actually happen." Kiyoko shifted a bit. "She dragged me away t' play BlazBlue when it looked like I wasn't on board with the idea. I was too scared t' really... y'know... say anythin'." |
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| Nonsequitur | Jul 16 2013, 10:03 AM Post #6 |
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Yellow Bubblegum
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"I'll stand, thanks. The answers are good enough for me." Benkei followed Toru's lead, and stood besides the couch, hands still in his pockets. "Well, isn't that sweet of her?" He muttered, bitterly. Videogames after she got cold feet on a premeditated murder. While she left the others to…wait. "You're saying she's the sort to leave other people to do her dirty work, huh? Keep her hands clean?" He spoke directly to Toru next. "I'd say she probably framed up Kyo 'cause it seemed like a convenient way to try and throw the trail off her, y'know, given that she and Amaya and lots of people knew she'd be there ahead of time." |
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| The One True Nobody | Jul 16 2013, 12:50 PM Post #7 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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Toru nodded in agreement; the previous idea that the murder had been focused on making Kyo look bad seemed to be erroneous, in hindsight. The true motive for the murder, then, was probably something to do with Amaya herself, with Kyo's involvement being that of an unlucky setpiece. "Keepin' her hands clean is somethin' she goes for, alright," Kiyoko muttered darkly, looking away and rubbing at her collarbone. "...Her boyfriend turned up dead not long after that, in pieces. The culprit was determined t' be this serial killer who was on the run from the cops at the time, but someone'd paid him off t' do it. Cops never found out who..." Kiyoko looked up to Benkei then, frowning. "I'm guessin' you're the one o' you who was hit personal by this, so I'll tell it to ya flat-out," said the blond girl. "Nishiyo's a member o' the Sadako family. They're not the biggest or most dangerous Yakuza tribe what ever came outta the Kansai cities, but they are one o' the more ruthless ones. Nishiyo once told me after--after she and the girls had offed someone, that her dad had raised her not t' let anyone fuck with her. She said that if they fuck with ya once they'll keep doin' it until ya make it so they can't fuck with ya no more." Kiyoko shook her head, and said, "That's her whole justification for all of it, but I do know she's killed people for way less than cheatin' on her or stealin' her boyfriend... so what might look like a murder motive t' her prolly wouldn't look like one t' cops. I know what happened when she and Amaya had their fallin' out, 'cause I was the one Nishiyo bitched at over it." She looked sharply to Toru and then to Benkei again. "I'll tell ya, but if either o' you let slip that you even know this shit, she'll know exactly who t' go after. If I'm gonna say anythin', I need you two t' swear ya won't ever let on what I toldja. Got it? She can't ever know. I don't wanna be lookin' over my shoulder on the way home from work every day." |
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| Nonsequitur | Jul 16 2013, 01:09 PM Post #8 |
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Yellow Bubblegum
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Sounds like good advice. He wonders how she'd react if someone tried to apply it against her. "I don't really give a fuck if she's the daughter of Michel Corleone. I don't mind dying for this if that's what it comes down to, either. People die for a lot less." Amaya…died for less. "Fine by me. I was Amaya's boyfriend, it wouldn't be weird if she mentioned something odd to me before she died when it was just the two of us, eh?" He shrugged, and turned to Toru to get confirmation that it worked for a good cover for Kiyoko's sake. "But go on, What happened when they had a falling out." One thing bothered him, still, so he had to ask. "So, who was Charinko's boyfriend at the time, anyways?" |
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| The One True Nobody | Jul 16 2013, 01:42 PM Post #9 |
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
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Kiyoko stared up at Benkei, and then took a breath. Stood up, and began to slowly pace back and forth on the other side of the low. Still sitting on his tatami mat, Toru sent Benkei a look--a frown, one that said they needed to have words after they were done here. Then he looked to the pacing Kiyoko and said, "I assure you, none of this will ever be traced back to you." The blond girl stopped walking for a moment, her back almost completely to the two men, then she whirled around. "That what this is about anyway, Nishiyo and her stupid boyfriend, so I guess it's fair t' start there," she said. "Bicycle's boy was a guy named Kenshin Nakadachi. He and his sister were one o' the poorest families in the neighborhood, but no one really took pity on 'em 'cause their dad was always gettin' drunk and causin' a ruckus. Not one o' the families where they're just unfortunate, see? Troublemaker family. Or at least, that's how everyone saw 'em. Talked t' Kenshin-san once, he was pretty nice. I do remember him hangin' with some o' the gang members back here once or twice, but I don't think I saw him do anythin' but smoke with 'em and shoot the breeze. It was more his dad's rep than his own that had people breathin' down his neck all the time, and I think that mighta--" But at Kiyoko rambled, she abruptly cut herself off, and a small tinge of pink colored her cheeks. "Ah--never mind, I just--if I gotta admit, I really liked that guy. Cheesed me the hell off when he went for a girl like Bicycle," she said, first haltingly, and then in a defiant tone of one who just wants to spit it out. "But I dunno if Bike's boytoy is a thing so much as his sister, Chika. Nishiyo got betrothed t' this one real piece o' work rich guy, Himura. Said it was her big out, that if she just married herself off t' this guy her parents wouldn't raise a stink if she left the Yakuza business. Amaya got on Nishiyo's case for bein' a gold digger, is the long and short, once ya strip alla Nishiyo's bullshit justifications and stuff out of it..." "And... how does Chika-san factor into this?" Toru asked with restrained interest. He knew the name Chika Nakadachi as that of a young Persona-user back in town--one who had discovered Hibiki Kurosawa's body, and who seemed to have some difficulty controlling her Persona. Kiyoko shook her head. "Don't think she factors inta Amaya bein' killed," she said. "But the thing is, I was over at Himura's once or twice, and one time I saw Chika-san leavin'. Apparently she was over there a lot, and Nishiyo said she was a part-time servant... she said that, cool as ice, and I think she knew otherwise. Just didn't give a shit." "Part-time... ah," Toru murmured, making a note in his book as he listened. Benkei, who was probably near enough to see what he was writing, might be able to clearly read the footnote that Toru had just scribbled into the margin: Chika Nakadachi - psychological damage, history of prostitution w/ Himura? "...So what happened between Amaya-san and Nishiyo-san after their falling-out?" Toru asked. Kiyoko shrugged. "Ah, I think that was about the time Amaya went off t' college, so... maybe it just took a little while for Nishiyo t' find her, I dunno. All I know is Nishiyo moved outta town with her meal-ticket and I sleep easier knowin' she's not in my life anymore. And the other girls... well, I don't know for sure, but--they're Yakuza now. Nishiyo was hintin' at gettin' us all jobs. I didn't like the sound of it, so she... gave me a big envelope with yen in it t' shut me up and I haven't seen her or the others since." Edited by The One True Nobody, Jul 16 2013, 01:47 PM.
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| Nonsequitur | Jul 16 2013, 02:04 PM Post #10 |
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Yellow Bubblegum
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He was actually going to ask about the name when she mentioned it herself. So she and Kyo had some kind of history. Not good either. And speaking of not good history… So, Toru had come to the conclusion that Benkei could only guess at. Going by how Chika acted that he'd known of. She'd had to endure some pretty messed up shit. Probably just to get by if that's how it was for her family. "I get the picture the rest of the way. That's helped a lot," He nodded to her as he went on. "Thanks. I guess that's it?" He turned to Toru, investigations really were his forte, he'd have final say if that was all. Still, he learned a lot, and not just about Amaya and her past. Everything about them got tangled up and interconnected, as far as he could tell. |
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