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Does anybody have a metal detector?; [Toru, Benkei, Seiji, Hanako - Closed]
Topic Started: Dec 20 2013, 12:33 AM (376 Views)
The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
Masumi gave Benkei a look at that, something between worry at the news that he'd been kidnapped by a murderer and chastisement for so bluntly throwing that in Etsuko's face. She was instantly distracted from this by Etsuko's face, though. She looked pained. Hurt. Conflicted. And she was hugging herself even tighter. A few seconds later, she turned away. She couldn't look Benkei in the eye. The worst part was probably that she couldn't even hate him for it. Whatever it was, whatever feud was going on between him and her sister, it was entirely Nishiyo's fault. All her fault. All hers.

Masumi shut the door behind Seiji, and then put her face in her hands, leaning forward against the door. She was tired. She couldn't think. Hanako said to tell her everything? Everything... the butterfly, the ruins--

"I ain't seen her..." Etsuko said quietly. "I ain't seen my sister since she was six. Since the last time we played tag and she called me skooterbutt." She turned back around, looking at Hanako, and asked in a quavery voice, "Tell me what 'everything?' The everythin' that Chika couldn't tell when I asked what would happen t'my sister, maybe? That she'll end up dead at the end o' this?"

Masumi felt her heart clench, and at the same time, felt like something was clenching over her brain. She pressed her head to the door and closed her eyes. What was she supposed to do? What was she even supposed to do in this situation?

Toru stepped nearer the girl, his cane clacking against the ground. "Arrested, hopefully," he said in a smooth, calming voice. "But she has done great wrong, Etsuko, you must understand--"

"Now y'are lyin'," Etsuko hissed, fixing Toru with a narrow-eyed glare. He stopped, frowning slightly. "If it were arrest, Chika wouldn'ta gone quiet like that. I told her the truth! I told her and Hanako where my sister came from. Tell me where she's goin'. Tell me what's gonna happen to her!"
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Nonsequitur
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Yellow Bubblegum
If Nishiyo rotted for the rest of her days in jail or died like a dog in the street made no difference to Hanako. So long as she wasn't able to threaten, blackmail or attempt to do harm to the people she cared about or the people they cared about, either was fine to her.

It would have been a really dumb thing to say to an already upset girl. "Eh, that's for Detective Imoto and Officer Yamada to decide. Leave that to them. This is about something else, and important." Perhaps it was best to just forget the ring? At least it was for the time being.

Benkei was done talking, he just folded his arms and leaned against the nearest wall. Hanako continued. "Etsuko, you've been living on the streets in Nagashima for a little while before you met Matsumi, what sort of things had you heard?"
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The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
"Nothin'," Etsuko said immediately, this time without any of the telltale strain of one who was twisting or withholding the truth. She walked toward the kitchen counter, arms still folded, and stood there with her back to the two of them. "I mean, nothin' big. Overheard some kids in the backstreets mutterin' about a samuraisomethingorother who cut their gang leader's head off, I asked around about shops and stuff so I knew where t' buy food. Mostly I kept t'myself. It weren't always like that. When Victor was with me, he--"

She broke off, stiffening.

"...When Victor was with me," she muttered in a quiet voice, "he always made sure t' know as much as he could about where we were and what was goin' on. I'm not sure how t' talk people up like he could, though."

Etsuko drew in a breath, and then turned around, leaning back against the counter. "Where's this goin'?" she asked.

Masumi, her head still pressed to the wall, said: "There are rumors around town. Butterflies that steal people away, or people with magic powers. Did you hear any of those?"

Etsuko blinked blankly a few times, and shook her head. Toru closed his eyes, and then just said, "Those rumors are true. It so happens that I--" He held out a hand, palm-up, and a flicker of light magic passed overtop of it. "--am such a one. As is your sister, Etsuko-san..."

Masumi turned her head from the wall, looking at Etsuko with a mournful expression. Etsuko, for her part, simply stared at Toru's hand, frowning at the spot where she had seen... something. Magic? Okay. But what did that have to do with anything? Nishiyo was magic? She didn't seem to have had any when they'd met...
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Nonsequitur
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"Well, it has to do with you because we have reason to believe that butterfly is going to come for you. Not much we can do about that. But it can be really dangerous. See? That butterfly takes people to a creepy underground lab complex, I guess? Those people, if they survive, are those magic people you keep hearing about."

She went on to add and build off her first statement. "Everyone here right now is one, in fact. If it happens to you, we'd like you to be prepared, you know? So it'll be better for you? Less chance of something bad happening. This is…kind of related to Nishiyo, but this is so much more important we can get back to her after we explain it all…" Just how was she supposed to talk all of that? Just who was that Victor? It was the first she'd heard of him…

Toru Motou was a respectable journalist, right? That meant he was probably leauges better at explaining things than a teenage girl everyone dismissed as crazy or unhinged, right? She looked to him hopefully for an assist in explaining things.
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The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
Etsuko bit her lip. "Why're ya so sure I'm one that's gonna get snatched off by some butterfly, then?" the girl asked. "There's a buncha people in this place, why me? Ain't like I'm anythin' special."

"Because we have a way of checking," Masumi said in a voice that was almost a whine. She turned full-on to face the girl she'd taken in and said, "When we went to meet Matsuhita-san that day, she has the power to see if you have--potential. The potential the butterfly looks for."

Toru took a step forward, and then another. There was a slight hobble to his walk--it was obvious that he needed the cane. "Never mind the specifics of that," the journalist said impatiently. "The key point is that it is this same magic that was tied to the ring, that ring was made as a trap for your sister, a tracking device and one that would clamp down on her finger when given a specific kind of command. So..."

Another step.

"...We know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the ring is on your person," Toru said evenly. "How did you get it? Have you been in contact with Nishiyo?"

Etsuko's face went blank. Tracking device. Trap. Clamp down on finger--what? It didn't make sense, but she was dealing with magic here, magic like in bedtime stories. They had given Nishiyo a cursed ring. Nishiyo hadn't known--she'd given it away as a keepsake. And--

Them's the ones who'll kill me. Her and Spencer and Benkei Watanabe and some others. So don't let 'em know I was here...

"I ain't got the ring," she repeated, staring blankly at the journalist. She was keenly aware of the metal against her skin under her shirt as she spoke. "I ain't seen my sister since she was six."

Toru took another step forward, his jaw tightening. "Etsuko, are you hiding your sister's activities from us?" he asked grimly. "Be truthful. I will not back down until you tell the truth."

Masumi's sorrowful eyes sharpened at that, and she pushed away from the door. "Toru, don't push her. Do not push her. Do you understand me?"

But Toru showed no signs of listening to his friend's concerns.

SHE MAY HAVE ENCHANTED HER. MAY HAVE TICKLED HER MATERNAL WISHES UNWITTINGLY. BUT NOT US. WE SEE THE TRUTH. EXPOSE IT. SHOW HER FOR THE LIAR SHE IS.

The voice's shouting was but a megaphone for his own feelings, he knew. Raphael was simply saying what he himself was thinking...
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Nonsequitur
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"If she did or didn't is not the point anymore Toru. This matters for Etsuko's safety." Benkei chimed up now, approaching behind Toru and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you just finish that, Ito-san. In fact? Why don't you just go wait in the car with that kid in the glasses?"

She mumbled and looked aside. "Fine, I guess as long as Masumi and Etsuko aren't going to get hurt or in trouble for it I really don't care if she was here or not…" There was a general undercurrent that Etsuko was not being believed. Perhaps after she got to scanners that would have been more clear. "Anyways, forget the ring, forget Nishiyo. I can't speak for everyone here, but I'm worried that you might wind up carried to that lab by the butterfly and by the time anyone finds out…" Best not to think about it. "So if you know what's going on you'll be a lot better off than a lot of people who just have this sprung on them."
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The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
"Well if ya really could track some magic ring and I really did have it, that'd make things a lot easier, wouldn't it?" Etsuko snapped, before turning back to the counter. Toru paused when Benkei put a hand on his shoulder, but his frame was tense. He gave Benkei a sidelong look--half-reluctant, half-frustrated, and then looked back to Etsuko.

"If you had just found the ring, you wouldn't be hiding it. It would be impossible to steal it from your sister's finger, especially without one of you identifying the other, as well," the journalist said in a level voice of barely-restrained accusation. "I can only conclude that it was given to you, and mark my words: gender is the only thing preventing me from searching your person for it. If you are hiding your sister's whereabouts or activities from us, however, know that you are aiding and abetting a remorseless killer who has ended no less than three lives in the past year; likely more. And she has made attempts on more still. Remorseless, and causing others immeasurable pain in the process."

Masumi was on Toru's other side, then. The journalist's head had begun to ache, and he rubbed at his temple with the hand that didn't have a grip on his cane.

SHE IS A DANGER AND A DECEIVER, LIKE HER SISTER. DO NOT LEAVE THIS BE. ONLY HARM WILL COME.

"I ain't--seen--my sister--since she was six," Etsuko repeated, leaning down against the counter.

"Are you quite sure?" Toru said softly. "Because as it happens, a friend of mine lives across the way... and when I called to ask if he'd seen anything strange, he did mention seeing two girls down the street from his upstairs window very early this morning, one handing a ring to the other. He seemed to believe it was a proposal of marriage..."

Etsuko stiffened, visibly. Her hands tightened, gripping the edge of the countertop so hard the knuckles were whitening.

"I ain't seen--"

"Nishiyo cut off a woman's head and left it on the table for her daughter to find. If you're hiding--"

"SHUT UP!"

And Etsuko whipped around, eyes alight with panic and frustration, snatching a dirty plate out of the sink and throwing it with all her might in Toru's direction. Of course, her aim was way off--what teenage girl is adept at plate-throwing? It might have been alright if it had flown in Benkei's direction, but it didn't. It did, however, fly directly at someone's head.

That someone was Hanako.
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Nonsequitur
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"Toru, that's enough!" What they came there for in the first place was done, over and done. It was bad enough Etsuko felt she had to lie to protect her sister, but there wasn't a damn point and pestering her about it.

Hanako's thoughts mirrored Benkei's own. She was a far better sister than Nishiyo deserved as far as she was concerned. She said. "You're just bullying her now! That's-" She caught it out of the corner of her eye.

The plate's aim was off, coming her way. Fast. She had several options, she could have ducked, she could have swayed back and let it sail on, she could have even tried snatching it out of the air. It would have been an insult to Ayane to let something like that hit her so easily, especially with so many options.

In the short span of time that it took to get to her, a flinch was evidence of an aborted dodge the notion to let it hit her if it would mean an abrupt end to the argument was tempting. She reacted before thought and snatched the dirty dish and deftly caught it in her hands.

Her reaction beat her rational mind: How would that have helped? It would have just increased the tension, not lessened it …good thing she had already caught it when she reached that conclusion…

"I'm okay!" She said, quickly sprightly and brought the dish back to where it was, setting it down. She took this opportunity to whisper, kindly to Etsuko. "You're a good sister."

"Oh, I think we should just go, can we just go?"
She said, looking to the adults.

"Yeah, it's probably be best…Sorry Masumi."
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The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
"Etsuko!" Masumi shrieked as the plate was let fly. Toru flinched, but it didn't fly toward him.

Etsuko watched in horror, almost in slow motion it seemed, as the plate flew through the air toward the wrong target, toward the only one of the visitors that Etsuko felt any sort of kinship or attachment to. She was sure, for an instant, that she was going to brain Hanako Ito with a glass plate, but then--then the girl caught it. Etsuko stood stock-still, staring wide-eyed and forgetting to breathe.

Toru slowly turned his head to look at Hanako. He barely heard anything either of the two said.

SHE HAS BETRAYED HER OWN GUILT. YOU SEE THAT SHE IS CORNERED. EXPOSE--

Because the voice, the voice in his head wouldn't, wouldn't stop, wouldn't--

"I need--" Toru said shakily. "I need--I need--fresh air. Alone. Stay here. With Masumi, with--"

"Toru, are you alright?" the fortune-teller asked, moving in front of her friend, her face a mix of concern and criticism. "This isn't like you, is something--your Persona feels off, Toru, is something wrong?"

"Alone!" snapped Toru, shaking himself free of both Masumi and Benkei, wrenching himself around and hobbling toward the door. "I need to be alone. Leave me be. Let me--clear my head. Stay here."

And then he threw the door open and stepped out, slamming it behind him.

Etsuko remained at the counter, next to Hanako, whose whisper had prompted her to close her eyes. "I saw her walk by the house, so I followed," she whispered, so that only Hanako could see. Her voice sounded thick, as if she were holding back sobs, and then she ducked her head. "She thought I was a tail. Snuck up. Chloroform. When I woke up I was on a couch with blankets n' stuff. We talked. She didn't even know I was still alive. Then she gave me clothes and walked me home. That's all. That's--that's all..." She sniffed a bit. "She even called me skooterbutt like she usedta. What'm I s'posedta do, Hanako? What'm I..."
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Nonsequitur
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"Is something wrong with Toru? Like what…?" Well shit, that day just got better and better…

"It's okay, it's okay." She hadn't been in her current position much, but she put her hand over her shoulders. "Don't worry, don't worry." She'd never considered Nishiyo as anything but the manipulative, despicable hate-filled thing they made her into. But she was a child once, one that Etsuko knew. That fact still wasn't even to make Hanako sympathetic towards her sister, not in the least. But poor Etsuko got caught up in what was happening. "Just do what you think is right. It's all any of us try to do."

Benkei had nothing to say, the Ito girl was comforting Etsuko, who needed it. Masumi was sure to follow too and he was ready to stand aside to allow her to do just that.
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