While there was a lot to be aware of in the room, from the Manticore to the others in the room, as well as (and perhaps more importantly) the Erohin, there was still a touch of awe and admiration for Suzu. Calmly, Ao looked from the arrow in his hand, to Brilliance's position, his face as expressionless as it was when he was working. There had been Erohin here, and things had gone wrong. Interesting, that. One hand still in his pocket holding the matagama, he began to tighten his grip on the arrow, testing to see how strong it and its enchantment was.
Phil's roar was something that he did not expect, picking himself up off of the floor and recovering as best he could. The arrow had fallen from his hands when he tried to shield his ears. Steadying himself, he was able to catch some parts of what was being said, though comprehension or hearing was slow to return.
Nothing was said by Ao, who only replaced his hands into his pockets, inviting Suzu back to his side with a lift of his arm. Looking about the "dungeon", he did have to admit that they had done an admirable job in the decoration. From the stone to the smell, it was certainly well-crafted. There was no uncertainty in his expression as he looked ahead, only an impassive calm that was not unlike his "work" face. Focused.
The front door was likely the best option, considering that they had seen no shadows opening the doors to escape. So forward, it was. Might as well lead the way.
"I've been thinking", he murmured to Suzu, as they approached the front door, "What if Convergence 'reset the board', so to speak? What if it seeded the rest to bloom later once things had settled, and all that was needed was the right level of heat?" As they proceeded, he took his hand out of his pocket and opened it slightly, enough for the Attendant to glimpse the matagama.
It was intuition, really. Legends mentioned a lot of things, but prominent in searching about the term for the stone was that they were initially gifts to the deities. Likewise for containment. There was always a threshold to pass before the containment would unlock, some criteria to be met. A lot of what he had worked with before depended on concept, and he truly doubted that such a radical shift had occurred, despite what the world had become.
"Would you do me this honor?"
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I feel like a "Flow" roll is appropriate here Flow:2d6 ⇒ (1, 6) = 7
Ao's expression was usually as neutral as he could make it, sandwiching a wall of cold neutrality between his tightly held inner emotions and the outside world. He called it his "work face", and usually donned it with his uniform. As introspective as he was being, he had reflexively slipped it on without realizing it. Suzu, though... At some point, she had somehow managed to drift through to the other side of that wall, and he did not know what to do about it.
His enjoyment of her company was not even a guilty pleasure at this point. He knew that she knew it, and he liked the line they tread near.
Suzu was fire and heat, and he reveled in the memory of feeling it on his skin that one time that he had experienced her nearly slip all her restraint. "Entertainment and a Proposition", he said calmly, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. He wore a half smile as that no doubt caught her attention. Was he flirting?
"However, it is poor form to rush something like this. We've Erohin on the premises, and magic gone awry, it appears. At a guess it can be contained, but the masses--", he gestured to the numbers of people that were fleeing. "--will not be the ones to do it. 'Shadows', was the word used."
His half smile warmed further as he offered his arm to Suzu and prepared to make his way down the stairs; not to mention what it implied about the goings on and what he intended to have the two of them do about it. "Is this evening's entertainment to your liking?"
As Yuki headed off to confront whatever may have occurred with whatever power she managed to retain, Ao had a minute of indecision to address and debate away. He looked towards where his sister had been, feeling like their connection was tenuous now. The old habits of work in the old workplace was something along the lines of keeping his head down and filling orders. Malice... He was not dismissing Malice or any of the Erohin at all. That was not the smartest thing to do by a long shot.
It was much the same now, really. The only thing that changed was the scale of his work, and who his boss was. He still paid no attention to the consequences of his actions until they were too big to miss, and kept himself buried in work just enough to keep his deniability. That he was barely on speaking terms with his sister said a lot about how much he was hiding.
He really ought to pay more attention.
"Suzu... Are you bored? Want to have some fun?"
He said the words softly, but he was guessing that for them to be their attendants, there were some more things that he was not yet aware of. If he guessed right...
The offer of returning gets a bit of a smile, Ao looking away with a bit of embarrassment. "Ah, I was more supply than anything else, really. I didn't even really take it seriously until that day." Again the awkward silence. There really was no good way to say, "Hey, I'm working for the people that executed one of our old team, and I had a hand in it! But enough about me, how's everyone doing?" Shaking his head with a sigh to dispel the awkwardness, Ao stuck his hands in his pockets and gave a shrug. It was an old reflex that he appreciated, given that this robe he was wearing over his clothes kept regular dress habits in mind. The book under his arm was an odd prop, to be sure. "Work is incredibly dangerous right now, but that's almost every day, it feels like..."'So what's one more risk, right?'
"On a more immediate note, do you know how I'm supposed to 'cast spells' with this thing?" He reached out and took Yuki's hand to pass the book to her, and hopefully no one would notice that the hand that was holding the large prop tome had something else in it that also got passed to her as she received the book. "I was working up until I was coming here and missed the meeting for the rules, or the message that had instructions." He could not help but laugh a little, considering he was always in the office working and losing track of time. "Some things haven't really changed."
Whether or not they'd be able to make heads or tails of the flash drive was something else.
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Unskilled Sneaky Dice Roll?:1d6 ⇒ 6
Tracy deflecting the confrontation was far better than his inept interpretation of how to resolve a conflict through faux(m) force. However, that did put the metaphorical spotlight back onto the guitarist, and Ao's almost floundering look of concern and guilt as he was beginning to realize that he was probably on the wrong side of things and way too deep in to even begin to extricate himself. "silverROSE...", he began, but trailed off when he realized that there was no place to even start, let alone what direction to head.
Staring at them, choked up by the tumult of words and emotion seemed appropriate.
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Tsundere(Defy):2d6 ⇒ (3, 6) = 9
The accuser's words ring out in stark contrast to the levity that was slowly turning to unease, and the silence seems amplified. Recognlition of the musician, and his guilt are stronger than the unease, and on its heels is anger. As an agent of the Erohin, he could see where this was going, and he had no desire to witness or play a hand in the outcome. At least he made the conscious decision to approach the scene— and a small part of him wondered if it was not a scripted event– and as his footsteps seemed so loud to him on the floor, his expression was warring between the "collected and unaffected" one he wore while he was working and something a little more angry.
Again, he found himself offering a hand to someone, this time to help silverROSE stand and the pistol concealed, pointedly ignoring the rude individual until she was upright. The look of recognition was something he did not bother to hide, giving her a reassuring look. Only then did he turn to regard the zealot. "Hate and violence like you have just demonstrated and enacted upon this individual?"
He did not have the desire to pitch his voice as loud as the thought police, and he did not want to attempt to pull whatever rank he may possess, so it was likely his words were maybe heard by those immediately nearby and just beyond. "There are a number of people here whose enjoyment you have just ruined, said enjoyment being part of the reason this event is taking place." One arm indicated the conga line of people, down the stairs and to the floor, now stopped.
"It is your behavior that is unacceptable, and I would recommend that you retire for the rest of the evening to contemplate the words 'civilized behavior' alongside 'social event'."
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Defy + 1 Stress?:3d6 ⇒ (2, 1, 5) = 8
Reminding himself that this is intended to be an event, and his sister is, in fact, an adult, Ao relented and did attempt to look mildly apologetic. "Reflex. It's in the Elder Sibling Contract. Would you like me to apologize?" His tone came out too professional, when was the last time that he had a day off? Sighing, he tried again, forcing himself to relax more. Acting was not his strong suit.
His eyes did note the individual coming out of the kitchen, and the split in his attention was obvious to his sister, for all that they traveled in different circles now. The din of the place was respectable, and it certainly seemed successfully "social", what with everyone chatting and talking. Not bad at all. The whole event was colorful without being a riot, and seemed to be relaxing for a lot of the individuals that he could see around here.
The resigned sigh from his reading the growing movement on the floor with the music meant that he was going to participate, whether he liked it or not. At the rate they were moving, they would be swept up eventually. "I may be busy, but you can let me be protective every blue moon."
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Hopefully, I'm not too out of sync?
The Event
Alia's costume came with a prop toolbelt, as well as a pair of weapons; one boffer sword, and an old nerf gun with one shot in it. A thin apron came with it, while the rest of the costume called for comfortable clothes, "something that would be fine in a workshop" was the guidance for apparel. On their card it read, "Your character has few friends due to being shy. Being treated considerately by a superior left your character with a sense of respect."
The costume... Ao had forgotten that this particular event had required a costume, and furthermore, he had forgotten that he had absentmindely agreed to what his role was to be. So now, he sat at the table wearing reasonably comfortable clothes along with a book that was held in a satchel/sling over one shoulder. The book itself was done up rather gaudily with an illustration of a lock over the top, complete with glit and gilding. The cloak? Robe? Garment that he wore over the comfortable clothes was slightly worn, and a pool noodle stayed by his side, the bright green color standing out against the decent attempt that his outfit made.
The backstory on his card simply said, "Decided to learn about secret societies, but didn't really like it. A cruel prank a close friend played left you feeling bitter and made you decide help others who had been similarly wronged."
Similarly, he was unsurprised that this place was still standing. Any other observation of the changes in the building was forestalled by seeing Kyou, and simple4sight. While he did not interfere directly, he did put himself in his former co-worker's line of sight until he noticed the less-than-enthusiastic expression he was wearing.
There was some consideration to Suzu's words as they were said, the merit to them obvious. Their surroundings of rich wood, elegant chairs, cushions that were quite nearly luxurious, and the heavy air of silence that loomed over the whole library was almost a tangible pressure. Some of the books collected here probably helped contribute to that, given who their owners may have been and the knowledge they contained in Neo Jimzan. There was no way that he could learn everything enough to be satisfied, and he was likely to burn out if he tried. As it was, he was short on time and rest just managing things currently.
Their indication of the book got a glance and a slight quirk downwards of his eyebrows, trying to remember what he had heard about the story. All he could recall was that someone made a deal, with a devil? The devil? Past that, he knew nothing. Of course, there was always more implied with their words, and again he nodded slightly, conceding the point towards what seemed to be implied with what he could recall of the plot. On the surface, the parallels were obvious.
"Touché", he murmured, nearly smiling as he stood and assumed his "proper" posture, donning what he thought of as his "work face". The book was collected for later reading. They probably should go see what was going on elsewhere, since he remembered some sort of event being mentioned. A long moment of his attention was given to his Attendant, before he started forward, intending to exit the library. "Would you like to take a break then?"
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I think that'll make a good 'idiot accidentally bumps the door open unwittingly' start. Event, Reading, and a break is the plan, thogh a break is likely coming first.
The reflex to follow Suzu's finger as it followed the spines of the stack was something that he managed to rein in halfway down, a second of wearing the "caught in the cookie jar" expression before it was smoothed away, replaced by his more normal business-like manner. The slight blush was more telling even as he acted like it was not there. They had been there a while, probably longer that he had thought, trying to get a grasp of just what they all had, and what they could do.
"A pleasure", he replied, keeping his voice low out of habit for the library. "Apologies, as well." A glance up at Suzu did nothing to help the slow fade of the blush, but he did slightly echo her smile.
It was probably time for a break, at the very least. "Is there something that would be a better use of our time?" He kept no notes, given what he was reading up on, but he was still chasing threads at this point.
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Segue to the social?
The backlog of work that was being worked on by Ao and his team often distracted him from the mundane goings-on, such that he often had to be reminded about various events, so focused was he on the details. At least exercise had long since been something that was on a set schedule— and quite honestly, somewhat routine such that the did not think about it anymore. He was by no means the peak of fitness, but when your boss was someone named "Malice", the associations that accompanied the word certainly inspired some degree of motivation.
That personal research in the library had been added into the list of things that were completed during the day meant that it had to be taken from somewhere. One skipped hour of sleep, one hour of what would have been leisure time was now being devoted to research.
It was during this personal research time that Ao stopped and looked over at his Attendant over his glasses. It was a half-second longer than he needed before he silently tried to convey his thought.
(Eyebrow raise, glance at book, glance around at the stacks surrounding them, intent look at them, slight frown to both eyebrows raised in inquiry.)
'You... You are not bored by this?'
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Alright, I wanted to get some motion on this, and I'm uncertain what is going on at present— though it isn't outside of possibility for this anime to be showing pieces from various parts in the timeline out of order. Should Ao be attending Chessa's... "social"?
The impressions were taken in as best that he could, while splitting his attention between what was being displayed, and what the machine's tolerances were. There were too many threads to chase them all, and he could only make impressions between making sure that everything remained as clean as he could keep it from behind the control panel. He had hypotheses now. There were enough solid threads for him to focus beyond the confusion that had been the time until now. There were questions, but there were always questions.
As best he could, Ao slowed the machine down and removed the matagama, casually smiling at Suzu's remembered comment. He had a direction.
Hideout:
Within the hideout, he liked to idle near the orb, idly raking sand in directions as his mind— freed of some of the pressure of his job– was relaxing. The orb was still a mystery, but some of the things surrounding it were not. As a discussion was currently ongoing, he only waited, listening.
At the first relevant break, he added his information. "The Manti— Phil is an issue, and perhaps the soonest event we'll see. Seconded on leveraging a wedge with... it." With the other piece of information, he stopped raking, leaving an unbalanced pattern in the sand surrounding the core of the shrine.
"I put my stone under The Needle. There's echoes of memory there, if we can figure out how to access them. I don't know how to do that here." A deep breath followed as he turned the rake over, and swept a line, erasing the pattern he had been building and preparing for options. His white jacket was unbuttoned, and his manner was slowly relaxing, even though he was still pretty stiff. As for the individual with a doll, he did not want to hope that one of the Erohin was playing both sides. That would alleviate a lot of the pressure he was already feeling.
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"Who will my enemies try to single out"
Ao will dedicate a downtime action to helping his department clear some of the clutter that has been accumulating with the ongoing events.
His theory is that if everything is slower, he'll have more time to explore the matagama.
There was a lot going on here, and trying to keep track of everything was just going to get them all discovered and dealt with, he realized. He did allow a bit of a returned smile at Suzu's tone, keeping his eyes on what the inquiry was telling him. "It was an idle thought. That avenue holds neither interest or intent. If you would return the egg—", his hands were already making a copy of the data that they had been gathered to be cross-referenced by the ever-tiring staff. "–I will take this to be logged. Cleanly shutting this device down always takes a while, and my idle thoughts do not make for any great interest for you, I suspect."
His eyes always said other things in the few glances that he allowed himself towards her, and likely that she allowed him in return, if he was to be completely honest with himself. That he was both metaphorically and almost quite literally "playing with fire" was one of the few sources of personal pleasures that he had.
His real intent was to get Suzu to vacate the room for the precious minutes that it would take for him to place the matagama under the Needle of Inquiry. They needed data, and this was a good opportunity.
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If the opportunity arises:2d6 ⇒ (2, 3) = 5
A look was stolen as the djinni lost themselves in thought. Ao knew that his admiration- okay, fine, his attraction- was likely the only self-destructive urge he could toy with, as he'd seen Malice's interpretations on the theme of "destruction". The line of the bridge of her nose, the arch of her eyebrow, and the curve of her jaw just behind her ear--
Quickly, he looked away, and set back to making sense of the data, but his mind was chasing other thoughts. The matagama in his pocket was a conspicuous weight to him, as he wondered if he could use it to absorb the magical core of the egg. There was a lot of energy in the creating of something, and this line of thought was ridiculous. Still... Ao was chewing his lip in thought.
"Suzu...", his words were distant, distracted as he was reading the results, trying to find the answer before she answered. The shift of magic still made no sense to him yet. "Conceptually, this is an egg. Creation, birth, etcetera... Could that potential be usurped and channeled elsewhere?"
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- Who here is hurting?
- How can I help Malice?
- What is most dangerous here?
The Flow is work, and to focus too closely on the work would disrupt the Flow... (Obligation):1d6 ⇒ 5
Once Ao had discovered that there was a surprising comfort to be associated with beings that could erase your existence at a whim, he always found himself surprisingly calm despite the pressure. The truth was that there was still not enough information to present anything concrete, on either side. Gathering the eggs was a fruitless task at present, especially given the heightened state of things.
There was also the question— or metaphysical question of what that many eggs were doing within one individual, and that raised a different host of questions towards their origins and intent. The best that could be done is to keep continuing with what they had, and hope for a breakthrough. To that end, he was examining the egg and the data that they had on it, using Malice's Chamber of Inquiry. A lot of what he knew personally was that things often worked on influence, so he was retracing what they had gathered and known about Shuji.
Similarly, the intent was to do the same with Malice's directions, it was possible that they might be able to find a common ground, but for now, it was working with the data that they had, and the tools that they had on-hand.
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Uncertain how far to describe things with this, so I'm imagining part of "interrogation" is "inquiry", and a set of permanent magical rings of containment and resonance might help to identify what, or at least what it is not, and get a direction that might help them. Do we have "Plot Points", or something similar?
At seeing Junpei transform, some of Ao's working mien had returned, turning him into someone that was almost a fixture, examining the transformed individual impassively. "Hm." In his hand, he held the matagama that had found its way into his possession, and closed his hand around it. Tentatively, he sent the slightly unused magic sense that he had discovered to lightly exploring the object held in his hand. It was not anything so forceful as a pull, or a push for that matter— he simply looked for lack of a better term. "Not encouraging for us", he replied absently in regards to Nobody's explanation.
In a flash of inspiration, he reached out to touch the "eye", since they seemed to be the same material.
The sphere on its plinth is a severe curiosity to Ao. As they found access to the space, that one thing kept the majority of his attention was trying to figure out what it was connected to. It would not move, and the sphere did not fall off. While it did not seem to need attending specifically, the water was anomalous. It seemed like water, but results from testing gave the same composition as tears. The readings may have been incorrect for one reason or another. If not, well...
Unsettling, but things were weird all over.
His contribution to the space was something minimalistic, setting up a sand garden around the sphere and plinth, raking patterns into the sand with a crude rake, or tracing poems into the sand with a dowel. While there was little else he did, it was enough for him to not have to assume his persona for a while. In here, he could be more human, able to shed his jacket and relax slightly.
As the intro plays, the camera pans across the Temple of Malice, and then fades into Ao, in a more functional outfit of white and carmine outside at a location that has been cordoned off with an shimmering iridiscent tape. In the background, a trio of people can be seen packing tools away into a vehicle, taking the last box from the edge of the cordoned area. Just inside the boundary, Ao is looking around at the scene and making notes on a tablet with a stylus.
As he concludes the notes that he was taking and turns to leave, the camera rotating with him, someone that he did not see bumps into him, the screen zooming in to see the gunmetal-colored matagama being dropped into his pocket before the person seems to apologize and hurry off. Not having noticed, Ao picks up the dropped tablet and stylus, and turns to head towards the tower in the distance.
Ao remained impassive, Astre and Tracy receiving a glance, but little else. He had found that unless addressed, he was more likely to be overlooked until needed, which seemed to be a far safer option than getting noticed— though thankfully, they were generally ignored. Seeing the eggs drop from where Shuji had been did get a raised eyebrow and a turn of his head towards Suzu. That was something that he did not expect. As far as he knew, being turned to ash did not result in that.
Everyone got a look to see how they were reacting, but those were things that he had not seen. He did have to act like he was not surprised by anything that he would see here, though this would get a lot of attention later when he was free to research. In the meantime, he would remain attentive, and try to remember everything going on.
His head turned towards Nyx, addressing them calmly, with almost no change in their body language save for a slight tilt of their head that reflected the light off of the lenses in their glasses, occluding their eyes. "We were coworkers, as pointed out by Perfection— I apologize if that was missed. My role involved no weapons, only inks. It was some of my work that bound the entry points and isolated the incursions, marked their points of entry, and looked to contain the darkness. I aided the guardian on the precipice with oblivion beyond and was tasked to bound the area when the world ended." The recitation was matter-of-fact, perhaps even cold.
There was a slight lift of his chin, though his eyes remained covered by the reflected light. "Those abilities have vanished with the Convergence, and other unknown factors were present before I could contain the area. I do not know if it would have held, and information does not support an altered binding factoring into the Convergence without sabotage." There was a stillness that accompanied the momentary pause that could have been a subtle rebuff to their accusation, but that might have given insult to the attendant and their Erohin, and was certainly not in line with the decorum they projected, at all.
"Therefore, any conclusion drawn from incomplete and unverified information could potentially be detrimental if not downright harmful to these efforts, which is why this time that has been spent informing you would have been better spent providing accurate answers and verified information to our Erohin." Ao was really counting on protocol preventing another attendant from harming another Erohin's... aide. He also suspected that Malice would be amused by this.
"That corresponds with what information that I have procured, as well." His voice was even, a cool contrast to Tracy's statement. "Efforts to bound the entry points were made, setting markers in attempts to establish a pattern. While there were some active agents working against what emerged, others were working towards similar goals against the Darkness."
One hand was folded behind his back, and the other in front, no expression showing on his face as he recited the information. "This one", he said, indicating the escorted and restrained individual on the table. "Was part of those looking to bound their entry." One hand went to adjust his glasses, pushing them up the bridge of his nose with a finger, his hand covering part of his face. "Convergence was not the intended result according to data, research is still being done to understand what happened. Sabotage has not been ruled out. I will not conjecture as to what purposes the deaths serve."
Only then did he survey the room to assess everyone, finding it difficult to look away from Perfection without some effort that marred his facade, though he seemed not to recognize Sora.
There was no reaction from Malice's inquisitor at the burst of flame behind him, and only the slightest turn of his head to indicate that Nyx had part of his attention. Tracy's coughing fit broke the staredown that seemed like it was going to persist, and in such company, that may have been... counterproductive. He was not sure what Malice's intent was, other than to ruin Perfection's sense of things, undoubtedly. Not that he could blame them.
There was probably going to be an announcement.
Several steps of polished black shoes on gleaming tile brought him over to offer a white-gloved hand holding a handkerchief as white as his uniform, the other hand behind his back— though whether the hand or the handkerchief was being offered was debatable. The motion was courteous, measured, but not so closed off as to be mechanical.
If the hand up is taken:
It is a minor bit of exertion to help lift her to her feet, his eyes examining her face for any distress before giving her a slight nod, whether acknowledgement or encouragement is uncertain.
If the handkerchief is taken:
As the handkerchief is taken, he turned away slightly, giving her the space to compose herself again while turning his attention back to the room. There were likely to be some watching her coughing fit with various expressions, though Nyx made their position quite clear.
One thing was surprising: his eyes were not quite s cold as his demeanor would suggest, though.
Stoic and composed, the white-uniformed accompaniment to Malice stood several steps away, one hand adjusting his glasses back into place with the smallest tilt of his head and an slight adjustment of the frames from the right side. His hair was pulled back from the sides of his head, tied down in close braids that ran back to the nape of his neck, their ends capped with red gems. Even the polished shoes It seemed like there was barely a thread out of place, and it would have been excused if it had been thought that he would have been Perfection's attendant. The material of his uniform seemed like it might be rough to the touch, though it was the crimson shard accents at the collar and wrists that gave it a curious cross between "military" and "butler".
His eyes looked around those assembled, turning his head only if he had to, and the other Erohin were only recognized as his Erohin did. He looked as if he were utterly unconcerned, which was entirely untrue. What he was doing was feeling the mood, and trying to get a sense of who was the most likely to react. The proximity of the attendants indicated that this was a first meeting, but it looked like everyone was uncertain and a bit on edge.
There was the possibility that things were not at they seemed, but the incomplete job was still hanging over his head. This whole going-on was something that he would have to dedicate time to figuring out later, but for now, he could help with those creations. He knew her— had met her– and at least he could perhaps trust in what she was doing, rather than some of these other people that he did not know. Uncertain about how to proceed, he let Sora complete her images, though he was listening to every word.
A lot of those words made no sense to him, but he did look at his sister in confusion. 「That is... not my sister?」 Mentally, he was berating himself for asking a question that was already answered, but he was wary of the others, and more confused about the entirety of what was going on at this point. This was more weirdness than he anticipated, but he was here now. 「Please, nevermind the question. What is the point?」 The whole time, he was stealing glances at the grass and sky, trying to maintain some sort of composure, and wondering if the time that was spent here was being taken away from what he was supposed to be doing.
Ao paused as he took in the scene, and gave a double-take at Kyou before giving her the smile he often gave her when he had seen that she had gotten into trouble that he had seen coming. 「I am not surprised」, he said with a grin. The other two got curious looks, but he was perhaps still where he needed to be. The last tag remained to be placed, and he had seen things that he did not want to see much of for a while. Giving a glance to the last point, he stepped into the tunnel, curious about what was going on, since Kyou didn't seem to be panicked.
Very surprised by the work that should have left him feeling a little fatigued, Ao could sense the press of time, like the this was a bubble, somehow sustaining the press of the outside world. The emptiness of this place was disconcerting, the symbolism that he did not understand, and the silence that it existed in. Certainly no place to remain, not when there was something to be done.
His hand began tracing the pattern to [Reinforce], pushing the completed pattern towards the feline that was facing down the skull, as gentle as one would push smoke.
The fountain and pump house remained, but he still sent a [Link] pattern and attempted to press it through the intervening space to set against the column that she was standing on.
This was the curious part. He could remember the containment patterns, but here, he did not know what would happen if he tried to apply them. The other places that he had sealed were not visible, and only those remained. Maybe it would be better to see what results the first two patterns had on where he was.
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Reinforce:2d6 ⇒ (3, 1) = 4 Link:2d6 ⇒ (2, 3) = 5
The silence was an echo in his ears, and he could feel nothing beyond what was under his feet. Even the fountain did not smell like water. He was "present", but it was like existing in an image.Only now did he come back from trying to make sense of what he could see, what he could feel in regards to the space that existed around him. There was no sense of how long he had been there, staring out into the uncaring void, the large feline— that he was quite sure was not even a "feline", but it faced the manifestation of the void, and that was enough. The sight of his sister on a pillar gave him no small amount of concern, and he did not want to understand what he was seeing.
He and this large cat were the only entities present, facing a skull, beyond which lay madness and nothing... So much for denial. Perhaps something on a smaller scale? Reflexively he took stock of the "fatigue" he usually felt after work. It was not quite that, he was certain now, but that was how he thought of it. If it felt like he had enough energy, he was going to try something. Indefinitely facing down the void did not sound appealing. Necessary, but not appealing.
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How is he feeling after that pair of symbols?
It was not an empty silence, as that of the void, but it just felt to him like it was near the edges. It was a silence that lay within the edges, and beyond was incomprehension. He lifted his head from contemplation of the pool as he looked around, seeing what remained of the world. The pieces that remained were pieces he had not yet touched, Elsewhere.
He was calm. Like the pool. No ripples of uncertainty, just the sense of peace like the silence. He found his footsteps taking him towards the panther, towards the edge, and closer to the skull that faced it. It was certainly an ominous representation, if anything beyond had been removed by its arrival. Why then, could it not progress?
His feet had stopped just behind and beside the panther, one hand reaching out to rest on a furred shoulder, not stroking as if to calm, but simply resting there. Reinforcement. Acknowledgement. Internally, he was extending that extra sense of himself outward, to feel what resonated back at him.
The skull had not moved. It could not. Not yet, at least.
The closing theme from a show that stuck with him started playing on his phone, and he toggled it to "answer" without a second thought. A second was lost pulling up the earphone to push it into his ear, but only family bothered to call, really. The majority of his conversations were done through messaging. It was just easier. 「Need help saving the world?」, he teased, trying to sound nonchalant and normal despite the horrible situation.
It probably did not work, considering the rain, and the wind. The storm sirens probably were not helping either. Still, he kept moving, so the sooner he was done, the sooner he would be heading home. 'Five left.'
It said something about his facility with his phone that he was able to glance at the message without overly compromising his attention to the area. Upon seeing her message, there was still enough denial in him to shrug off that statement as a joke, reaching the trash can and applying a tag. It was rather hard to ignore the moon, but he tried.
@Ki-Chan: Good luck! You wouldn't believe what I'm seeing because of work. Just make sure you're packed!
The water fountain was next, and he really had no idea what he was going to say about work, since the question of, "What's so important that you have to run around in a typhoon?" was not one that he had a good answer for. He really didn't even have a bad answer. Making sense of this was going to be something that he felt he was going to be working on for a while.
The tag was not a "Containment" tag, it had been one of the few tags that he kept in his work bag, more out of obligation than anything. It looked like it was one of the "Marker" tags that he had learned to make that one crazy month that almost every day he was out and about, tagging two and three places in a shift with them. At the time, the assignment had mentioned something about "developing a working replica", but became so complex in the explanation that he was unsure whether or not they were just being differently vague. The pay was good, so he just shrugged and went along with it.
Right now, Ao's expression was that distant sort of look that said that he was registering things as they occurred, but only as much as needed to function. 'Person, disagreement, two people, fighting—' Trussed's comment about his niece was enough of a shock that made him blink and remember the task at hand, because he had been staring. 「Ah! Sorry! Yes, sir!」 With a bit of a stumble, he resumed the hastened pace, trying to keep his head down and keep an eye out for any other problems at the same time.
'I doubt I will want any candy for a very long time', he thought to himself as he moved. 'Six more to go.'
Ao was... not panicking. He was probably going to panic hard later, but he would probably blame all the games he played on his phone for this. 'Goal: Save teammate. Tool: Tag. Depletion possible, retention capable. I really hope the boss will not be upset.'
Rather than stare, especially when staring up at her? It? would also let him see the weirdness of the moon hatching, he ran ahead. As he pulled another tag out of the bag and reached the place where some of the weird blood had fallen, a swipe of the tag put some of the blood on the back— then he realized...
...He had no idea how this was supposed to work. Grasping at straws, he tried to focus on the tag. 「Activate!」, he shouted at it. Would it seal the demon thing? It was probably going to interfere, but this was one of the tags for containment...
______________________________
Tag Activation:2d6 ⇒ (4, 5) = 9(Does this need to be rolled?)
Ao blinked as he realized that what he had paid attention to in the briefings were actual things as opposed to just some jargon that he thought he would pick up eventually. Suddenly more worried than he was before, he had to try to focus to get the job done, and that was not working out so well. 「I thought those were corporate lingo and metaphors」, he said shakily. He was starting to see things in a whole new light and not just the orange light from that building.
____________________________________
Is it possible to take Trauma- or multiple points- to get things done in an orderly manner? He's due for it anyway at this point, I think. Run Away:2d6 ⇒ (4, 1) = 5 Stay Calm:2d6 ⇒ (1, 5) = 6
Ao tried to keep the incredulous look off of his face at the things going on in the background and only focused on what he was here to do. Set these tags. He almost wondered what he could need cover for, then realized that he did not want to really know— not quite yet, at least. He could at least talk while working. 「It is good to see you, I have completed two points so far.」 He was worried about the weather potentially ruining the tags before he could get them applied, but so far, so good. He had heard of sidewalk artists using waterproof materials on concrete, and it was something to look into, in some cases, maybe.
「I did not know that you had equipment」, he said, making small conversation. 「Was there much effort expended in making sure I did not see all of this going on?」 It was a valid question, but the answer would also indicate how much value he had as an employee. The answers he got would fill in a small piece of information that he could use to gain context on the rest.
「Likewise」 Ao said, as he took a deep breath and checked his phone again. His sister had not responded, and he was getting worried. She was rarely feet from her phone and it had been longer than she ever took to respond now. Still, he was here, and the sooner he got the job done, the sooner he'd be headed home. There should be enough time.
@Trussed_in_me: Starting with the easy-to reach locations. The building is the only sticking point.
It looked like he was going to have to walk the circuit and leave the building for last, though that looked like it was going to be a difficult thing. Perhaps he would come up with something by the time he got to it. Ao opened the bag, and pulled out the first tag, sticking it just under the plaque.
The stopping of the car and the rumble of thunder could be ignored, but the sirens starting up could not. With a long exhalation, as if preparing himself for the world, he lifted his head off of the headrest, and checked his phone. The slew of messages were something he tabbed in and out of, not seeing the one that he was looking for. His greeting towards Takenaka's other fare was polite, for all that he did not look up at her beyond a rote glance, barely noting the person that got in. The cursory response was equally distracted as he was messaging quickly, the screens popping up and switching impressively fast. 「Likewise, a pleasure...」
@Trussed_in_me: Have not arrived. Should be minutes. Will need access to that maintenance building. The rest is easy.
@simple4sight: Nearly at assignment. Will be working quickly. Have to get back to my sister.
@Ki-chan: Are you almost packed? I'm afraid that I might not be able to cook. I'll treat you to dinner instead.
「If they are not out of the way, I do not mind. I am still "working", so I need to get to my destination promptly.」 His head was still back against the headrest, his eyes closed as he sorted his thoughts out in his head. He really just wanted to get this job done so he could get back home and maybe panic in private. Well, not really. He was probably going to go home and start finding out what he did not know about the things he had not been aware of— Not that he expected to find much. If he was lucky, maybe he could keep his sister from becoming involved in this.
He was going to text his coworkers back after he got the job done.
____________________________
Oh goodness. Kyou's tag was likely something corny, like "Good Fortune", or "Good Luck". Proably a personal re-creation of those tags that get given out for holidays and such.
Ao was torn. The job needed to get done, and things had just gotten weird. He also had to complete the work to get back to pack just in case the tsunami was coming, and make sure that his sister was set just in case. If not, it was still his turn to cook... However, a gun was an extra means of self-defense. They were not that hard to use, right? Also, it was a gift and gifts should be respected, right?
Still, this whole thing was weird. Right now, he just wanted to get the job done— along with getting into that maintenance shed, troublesome– and get back home to figure himself out. His eyes widened as he realized he had to decide whether or not to tell his sister. Could he warn her? Should he warn her? Maybe he could bribe her with an autograph?
It was way too much to worry about now. 「Takenaka-san, that should not have worked.」 His voice was dull, his head back against the headrest and his eyes closed. Was this feeling resignation felt like? It did not feel like acceptance. He would probably be panicking, but what good would it have done? Especially since he was a passenger in someone else's car while they were driving. 「Does magic really exist like this?」
'-Even if I am trying to deny the evidence that I am currently riding in.' If he had to describe it, it felt like he was "blank".
Speechless, Ao's jaw was hanging open at the obvious changes that occurred when the tag that he made actually worked! Lost in his thoughts, and looking rather wide-eyed at the changes that he wrought, he missed nearly every word that the driver said. 'This was not supposed to happen Why did this happen Oh kami I'm so utterly f'd... What does this mean and how does it work Now my life will never be normal again' Dimly, he noticed that he was receiving glances from the driver, and blinked a couple times as the truth of his reality tore his carefully constructed facade to ribbons and set them on fire around him. She had said something, and it was a question, maybe?
「U-um—」, his voice actually cracked on the first word, and his uncertainty was blatant. 「Yes, please?」 The job still had to be done, but now he had questions. 'Just what is being contained that needs nine seals?' His fingers were having difficulty cooperating. Huh... his hands were shaking.
@silverROSE: ...I think I might be needing it. Have things always been this... ~weird~ and I just haven't noticed?
+1 Fate 'At least I'm winning somewhere', Ao thought as his game updates came with a few motions of his fingers. The message popped up, over top of his games, and that was annoying. When the driver tugged his earphones out, he was surprised by the invasion of his personal space and just barely resisted looking around. That also meant he could hear what was going on, even if he refused to look. It was too much to take. Could he do something?
'Why can't this world just be normal? I just want things to be normal!'
It seemed he could be angry... Or was he feeling empty? Was this resignation? 「Fine. I need you to give me your pen and a piece of paper from you. I don't think I can help, though.」
'If this works, I can't ignore it anymore...' It would mean the work he did was real, and not some rich businessman's fancy. It would mean that he had to be responsible. It would mean that there was a lot more that he was going to have to find out. Whoever that was that kept texting him was getting annoying. How can they even see him?
If the requested items are delivered:
Once the requested items were delivered, he set to. Earbuds back in. Eyes closed. Focus. Deep breath. Visualize. Eyes open. Write.
The finished product was handed to the driver. 「Lick the back. Stick it on the car.」
If not:
All of his spares were used at the Temple. The ones for the assignment could not be used. Could... Could he write it on the car itself? 'Takenaka-san, I'm sorry for what I'm about to do.' One hand went into his bag to try to find the wide-tipped permanent marker he kept (...just in case...).
Earbuds back in. Eyes closed. Focus. Deep breath. Visualize. Eyes open. Write. The symbol was completed in seconds on the center console, and he let the focus go with it.
Now, what he was wondering, was whether or not it would work.
Ao's attention was stolen away from his phone, and from him trying to see what was going on around them by the driver, that he missed her reaching for a phone that was not there. A small feeling was telling him that looking back down at his phone to respond to the things that he could control was probably the better option, so he listened to it. It felt like things were not making sense, and that was bothersome. He was more distracted by silverROSE's message.
"Hm? I missed that", came his strained, mildly confused response— one that was echoed in the message his fingers were sending.
@silverROSE: What?! You- when? No? Where? Why!?
She had sent him a gun? She never spoke to him let alone gave him anything, and she sent him a weapon? That was something even more worrisome than what he was Trying Not To Notice going on outside.
@Trussed_in_me: That... will DEFINITELY require some qualification.
42-42-564: I don't know you? Her? Who is she? Who are you?
@simple4sight: As you wish. If or when I learn it, I will replace it.
Of course, he had a name now, as well as a debt owed, so his next search parameter that got set up was in his keyword search was{Amp(lify)+Talisman+Symbol+DJ-music}
@Ki-chan: Tsunami warning. Check the news. Pack your bag. We might have to evacuate.
{{Linked Meteorological Article}}
The messages sent, he closed his eyes and put his forehead in his hand, trying not to look outside the car if he could help it. He did not feel well, was he hallucinating? He did forget to eat... A bit light-headed, he picked his phone up and then put it back down, closing his eyes again as he tried to reconcile what he was Most Definitely Not seeing. "I'm clearly seeing things...", he said, mostly to himself.
'Just coincidence', Ao lied to himself, a bit disturbed by the convenience of the array on objects in the area. It did make it convenient, as it would let him walk the perimeter, save for that maintenance shack... That was going to be the difficult part. He could hope that the fence would be open, but that was not likely, and the talisman could not be put on the fence. He hoped that he would not have to climb it, maybe he could find the service tunnel indicated on the map.
Three chimes went off on his phone as he reached the car and got in, noting the driver with a polite nod, acknowledging them with the perfunctory greeting. "I am. Thank you for coming so swiftly, Takenaka-san." As the car pulled off quietly, he set to responding to the texts.
The first was the mysterious tone to Simple4sight's vague allusion, but he went with it.
@Simple4sight: Ano... Apologies? Would there be any that you would prefer instead?
Trussed_in_me proved a theory that he had, and it took a few mintues for him to look up the names he encountered, and finding what was publicly available on the idol group. It raised an eyebrow, but he figured that Kyou would know far more about it. He would have to caution her about being a nuisance. He would also have to look up this "Princess", also.
@Trussed_in_me: Thank you, but I am not interested. If my sister learns of it, I may have to change my answer.
Sighing, he looked away from his phone and put his head back on the headrest, and massaged the bridge of his nose. As they were crossing the Kirakira, he was gazing out over the side at the distant view when the car began to slow, and Takenaka-san spoke.
The limousine was unfamiliar to him, but the driver did not seem too pleased. He was looking between the limo, the delay, and the view, not quite sure about the subject of her comment. "Is the delay that severe?"
Ao's eyebrows went up at the mention of sending backup. Previous deliveries that he made did not require backup, and it took him barely twenty minutes to complete any delivery that was made, if that. Though, nine sides was a bit of a challenge, as in theory, if he were to deliver these properly, the placement had to be precise... This was one of the things that he enjoyed about the job. While it was a bit odd, he did enjoy making sense of the placement so that everything was evenly placed.
At least this far, there had not been any requests to deliver a product in such a way that there would have been an outer boundary and an inner boundary. That would have required some interesting calculations. Come to think of it, he would have to look into the theory behind that, since some things could interact— He cut off his musings with an audible snort, as he turned to his computer to start mapping out where he was going to have to place the tags. They were almost dry, and he could take a minute or two to stretch the geometric figure from the center of the gardens to encompass it appropriately.
Since he was running closer to time than he liked, he triggered the Ünten(運転) app on his phone to call for a ride that would not have him waiting as long as he would be if he was waiting for the bus. A bit of work took perhaps ten minutes, which was then saved and downloaded to his reasonably charged phone, and he collected the tags into the paper bag before he departed. With any luck, the car would be there by the time he made it out of the Temple.
@DelphicKnight: Headed there now. @simple4sight: I had to borrow your tag for an order. I'll have a new one made for you tomorrow. @Trussed_in_me: Covering. Are those people former idols?
{{Attached array plan and points overlay}}
With the ofuda drying, Ao leaned back in his chair, coming back to the quiet of the office from wherever his focus took him. Taking a minute to check his feeds, he began prepping up what would be taken with him for his assignment, double-checking the coordinates sent.
The trip to work was spent checking his feeds, so there was a lot that he did not notice on the way there, save for when his stop was approaching. The place being empty was not too much of a surprise, though he did sigh and go over to stop the printer from spewing paper. The issue with the network was "fixed" regularly, and this kept happening. He figured that by now, the majority of the people in the office knew how to get the printer to stop ejecting paper.
@DelphicKnight: Arrived at Temple. Is there a package prepared for delivery? Otherwise, beginning to craft package now. Anomalous message included.
{{Included screenshot of "Wrong Park" exchange}}
His feet took him to his cubicle automatically, and setting his phone on the induction pad to charge, he started the ten-minute mental routine as he prepared his area to craft the tags. His codex came out of his bag, and flipping to the Containment reference he began to focus on it like he was taught. Given the time window that was stated, he hoped they had supplies on hand or else he would have to scavenge.
Noting the proper examples of the tags, Ao straightened his tie, clipped it to his sleeveless white shirt with a tie clip that he had splurged on, the head of the clip resembling a calligraphy brush, and took a calming breath as he looked at himself in the mirror. 'That someone else has symbols up is Not Relevant. It's a large world, and interests are varied. This is Not Significant. Just do your job.'
He pretended not to notice that his exhalation was a little uncertain.
After that, he was out of his room and on his way to the door, picking up his bag from the hallway stand, and tucking his phone into it. His codex was in his pocket, as well as on his phone, and he was set. 「See you later, Ki!」, he called from the hallway, only to get an annoyed sound back in return. Laughing, he grabbed his keys and headed out. He most certainly did not go the same way they had come to reach their apartment after meeting May, even if it took a little longer.
