It was on the eighth of August, when the corpse was discovered.
Kurogiri Satsuki, the teacher...
Kurogiri Satsuki, the teacher...
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That Nostalgic Summer Rain (Bleach/Kara no Kyoukai)
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Update 1
Mortifer
Embrace your inner lunatic. Fun times guaranteed.
- Location
- Under a rock.
It was on the eighth of August, when the corpse was discovered.
Kurogiri Satsuki, the teacher. Only a few months ago, he had replaced Hayama Hideo, after he was fired and subsequently disappeared.
The girl sat on a bench in Reien Girl's Academy, as her fellow students around her talked about the tragedy.
'"It's so sad." One of the fellow students muttered to a friend. "He was so nice..."
"He didn't really seem like much." Someone else said. "But... He only just started. And now he's gone."
The girl didn't feel too much about the victim. It wasn't that she was uncaring. It was tragic that someone had died, and even if the girl had barely known Kurogiri, it was still sad. But currently, there was a bigger question on her mind.
Kurogiri had been the supervisor of Class D, and less than a week ago, that class had been involved in another incident. The girl hadn't given it much thought, thinking it was just a rumour, but she should have known better. She, at least, knew that a rumour wasn't necessarily untrue. The whispers of her name behind her track were more true than anyone else thought.
As the rumour went, Class D had awoken in the old school dormitory six days ago, in the middle of the night. Nobody remembered how they had gotten there, and as the rumour went, some of them had lighters on them. A usually innocuous thing, until one remembered why the old school dormitory was out of commission.
The incident over where Hayama Hideo had been fired had been a fire, in that dormitory. A student had been unable to escape the blaze, and had been killed. A student in Class D.
Tragedy seemed to follow that class, it would appear. After the fire, the class had slowly deteriorated. Their grades had dropped, and they appeared to grow more paranoid over time, until the incident. And now their teacher had been killed.
Perhaps the girl was wrong, to let it distract her from the tragedy, but it had seemed too interconnected to be mere chance.
No, it was more than that. Before the incident in the old school dormitory six days ago, there had been another oddity which had concerned the girl. She had dismissed the connection earlier, because nobody had died until the oddity had passed, but if it was all connected, then perhaps that dismissal had been a mistake.
Kokutou Azaka had introduced Ryougi Shiki to Reien Girl's Academy.
Such a thing would, in most circumstances, be easily dismissed. That name is one most thought nothing of, apart from the fact that the Ryougi were a rich family. And that was note overly of note in Reien Girl's Academy. Wealthy families enrolling their daughters in the Academy was hardly new, and with the Student Council President demonstrating enough sway with the staff as she had, the monetary sway most of the well-off students had wasn't as impressive.
No, the name Ryougi Shiki would not mean much to most students in Reien Girl's Academy. But to those such as the girl, who knew who Ryougi was, the fact that she had been here was a disturbing thought. To most, she was simply a distant, perhaps rude figure. But the truth was, Ryougi Shiki's presence was an ill omen. From what the girl had heard from Ryougi, she was not easy to motivate, and from what the girl had experienced personally, what did motivate Ryougi was not safe for anyone else.
Asagami Fujino had seen firsthand, the extent that Ryougi Shiki would go to for the sake of killing another person. She would not be interested in a safe person as a victim, but with a suitable target, she would stop at nothing. The fact that Ryougi Shiki had come to Reien Girl's Academy had been a sign of danger to come, and Fujino had been a fool, to think otherwise.
Ryougi had already left by the time Kurogiri had been killed, so whatever her involvement had been, it had already ceased. Perhaps the incident six days ago had been what she had waited for. But as of the current moment, it was unlikely to have been Ryougi's hands who had killed Kurogiri. Even still, the involvement of that woman...
Fujino repressed a shudder, as she continued listening to the people around her.
"I wonder how Ouji's taking it..." Another girl said. "She was fond of Kurogiri, wasn't she?"
"Was she? I don't think I ever heard her talk about him."
"They'd meet together all the time. And of course you wouldn't have, Ouji doesn't gossip idly. Not since the fire..."
The girl tilted her head to position her ear towards that specific conversation. The student council president had been effected by the fire as well? She hadn't been part of Class D. Was this another connection which she had overlooked?
"The fire? You mean where-"
"Yes, that one. Tachibana had been Ouji's friend, you know. She hasn't been the same since, really."
Tachibana. That was the girl who had died in the fire. She was close to Ouji? In that case, perhaps it was her that tragedy was following, if she was also fond of the teacher who had been killed.
"Has anyone seen Ouji?" The conversation continued. "She's not here, and I don't think I've seen her around..."
"Not since yesterday." Someone else continued. "She was looking for some scissors just after class, I think she said?"
"I hope she's okay. She's been through a lot."
...She has, hadn't she?
Fujino kept her grip on her cane as she kept that train of thought.
Ouji Misaya was relatively well known in Reien, but Fujino had never given her too much thought. Now, the girl wondered if she should have paid more attention. Maybe Ouji was merely running late, but with a second person she cared about dying in only a handful of months...
Turning her head so as to look to another nearby group of students, Fujino adjusted her cane to tap along the edge of the bench to ensure she knew how far down it she could go, and slid down. The conversation around her faltered for a second as the cane tapped, Fujino noted. It was disappointing, Fujino mused, that she stuck out as abnormal now. But at the very least, being blind wasn't as bad as everyone knowing what she had done.
"Excuse me." The girl asked, smiling. "Has anyone seen the student council president?"
There was silence for a moment, before someone in the group responded.
"I heard a rumour that her dorm mate didn't see her last night." A girl whose voice Fujino didn't recognise began. "Apparently, all of her things were still there, but Ouji herself never turned up."
"I see..." Fujino muttered under her breath. "Everything was still there?"
"That's not what I heard." Another girl said. "Apparently, there was some things missing. Tachibana's old things, I think? Maybe Ouji was feeling sad and went to go somewhere to relive old times? Oh, that sounds almost romantic..."
"Tachibana's things?" A third voice asked. "I thought it was that the dormmate was missing a map, not that Ouji's old friends belongings disappeared as well."
"No, no, that's not it." The second voice said. "The map had been moved, but not taken. Someone had traced a location-"
"Hey guys." Another voice interrupted, sitting down next to Fujino. It took the girl a moment to recognise the voice. Seo Shizune, Azaka's dormmate. "What's up?"
"We're talking about Ouji." One of the girls Fujino was talking to replied. "I don't think anyone seen her since-"
"She's going to Karakura Town." Seo interrupted.
There was silence following her declaration, so Fujino took it upon herself to start the conversation again.
"Ah... How do you know what, Seo?"
The other girl hesitated for a moment, before she replied.
"I... Have a friend in the city, who saw her yesterday." She decided, eventually. "She said that Ouji was buying a train ticket to Karakura town, without even changing out of the Reien uniform. She seemed like she was in a hurry? I don't know, but they haven't been wrong about this before."
Seo did this often, Fujino reflected. She always seemed to know things and then give an unconvincing response as to how she knows, but always ended up right in the end. Maybe she was secretly sneaking out, or had a lover in the city she didn't want people to know about. But, if it was Seo saying it, then it was probably right.
But, why would Ouji be heading to Karakura town?
"Thank you, Seo." Fujino replied, smiling. "I was wondering where she was. Honestly, I was getting worried about her."
Maybe the rumours were accurate again, in what was missing. Maybe Ouji had run away with Tachibana's old belongings. Maybe Ouji wasn't doing too well, right now.
She didn't know the details, but she did know that Kurogiri's body was only found this morning, and he hadn't been seen after classes yesterday. Perhaps Ouji stumbled across his body before anyone else had, and ran away in a panic afterwards. Chances were, she wouldn't be feeling too good about herself right about now.
Perhaps Fujino was jumping to conclusions, making an assumption when she shouldn't, but it didn't sound as if Ouji was in the best state, right now. And Fujino had been going off of less evidence, when Risu was mourning her friend. If Fujino hadn't intervened then, then a classmate of hers would have died months ago.
Withdrawing from the conversation for a while, Fujino took a moment to think about it.
It would be easy enough, to get away from Reien. If she told the staff she was feeling concerned about her health, they would be obligated to let her leave the academy for a while. And if she was caught going to Karakura, she could just claim she was heading somewhere nearby to find a new doctor for a second opinion, just to be safe.
She did feel bad, honestly, about lying like that. But Fujino had made up her mind. She had done something terrible in the past, and yet when retribution came upon her, she was spared. Fujino had to prove that her survival wasn't a mistake, and if helping her classmates did that, then that would be what she did.
...No, more than that. Fujino did not have to prove that it was right for her to continue to live, she had to ensure that she atoned for the sins she had committed. Humans carried their sins with them forever. If Fujino wanted to be able to bear her burden, she had to continue to help others. A minor inconvenience like having to lie and missing a few days from school was nothing. With the sins she was bearing, such a thing was a merciful price, to lift that burden for but a moment.
Tonight, Fujino decided. She would go to Karakura town tonight, and find Ouji Misaya. If she needed help, then Fujino was here for that.
That wasn't even that difficult, all things considered. It had been several months, and Fujino had adapted to her new blindness well enough. Nowadays, she didn't even need to cheat, with how well she had remembered Reien Girl's Academy's layout. The train to Karakura Town was more than capable of accommodating Fujino, and she was able to reach the small town fairly easily indeed.
After that, getting out of the train station was a bit of an ordeal, but one Fujino had grown accustomed to. People gave her space when they saw her cane, asking for guidance was easy enough, and even if she disliked moving so slowly, she had managed to leave the station and get into the city proper before long.
Now it was just a matter of finding a place to stay, for however long it took to find Ouji or hear that she was alright. A hotel of some description. Fujino knew it would be easy enough to simply ask, but...
Well, perhaps part of her wanted to do it the other way. The part of her Fujino should probably be ignoring, but which she could see the logic behind this time. She was in a new city, and an understanding of it's layout would make it easier for her to move. And besides, there was something about this town that was giving her the chills. An instinctual gut feeling, that it would be better this way.
It took some walking to manage it again, but the girl was able to get away from the station before long. Once that was done, and Fujino could no longer hear a crowd around her or cars moving through the street, she closed the eyes that kept opening reflexively without reason.
She knew she could do this without hurting anyone around her, she had done it before, but it was best to avoid the potential situation in which she was wrong. It was as easy as flicking a switch, really.
One moment, there was only darkness. The next, Fujino saw all.
This power of hers, the ESP she possessed, was a coincidentally useful ability. The blind, with the ability to see everything around them...
Ah, if only she could properly trust herself to use her ability constantly. But even if she had done this safely before, she couldn't trust her own thought process to understand when she goes too far.
No, it was better that she only used her power on rare occasions. In fact, thinking about it, the excuse she had come up with to do this now didn't even sound convincing to her. Perhaps she should-
The bird's eye view granted to Fujino through her power presented to her a sight that interrupted her mental progression.
How unexpected. Some kind of monster.
It was lurking in the shadows of an alleyway, laying in wait for something. What, Fujino wouldn't have been able to tell. The monster appeared to have some kind of mask fused into it's body, and a hole through what looked vaguely like a chest.
...What exactly was this? Fujino knew that the supernatural existed, but she had never encountered something like this before.
The monster in the alley three blocks behind peaked out of the shadows for a moment, then skittered back into it, vibrating slightly in anticipation. Shifting her clairvoyance, Fujino took a moment to observe why.
A human was walking down the street, towards the point where the alley began, where the monster would be. They appeared to be ignorant of the threat they were walking towards, even now.
Perhaps it was time that Fujino intervened, then? It would hardly be fitting, for her to simply overlook a situation in which someone is in danger, when she could so easily stop it.
She turned, using her cane to established the area around her body, which she was no longer watching, and made sure to swing it in a wide arc on the ground as she walked to ensure that anyone who happened to wander by would notice her distraction.
The monster was there, and by the second, the potential victim was drawing closer. As she closed in herself, Fujino took a moment to take a look at the person walking down the street.
[X] A boy with orange hair, looking around nervously as if worried that someone might see him.
[X] A girl with black hair, an annoyed expression on her face as she muttered to herself.
[X] A small girl, seemingly oblivious to the world around her.
Kurogiri Satsuki, the teacher. Only a few months ago, he had replaced Hayama Hideo, after he was fired and subsequently disappeared.
The girl sat on a bench in Reien Girl's Academy, as her fellow students around her talked about the tragedy.
'"It's so sad." One of the fellow students muttered to a friend. "He was so nice..."
"He didn't really seem like much." Someone else said. "But... He only just started. And now he's gone."
The girl didn't feel too much about the victim. It wasn't that she was uncaring. It was tragic that someone had died, and even if the girl had barely known Kurogiri, it was still sad. But currently, there was a bigger question on her mind.
Kurogiri had been the supervisor of Class D, and less than a week ago, that class had been involved in another incident. The girl hadn't given it much thought, thinking it was just a rumour, but she should have known better. She, at least, knew that a rumour wasn't necessarily untrue. The whispers of her name behind her track were more true than anyone else thought.
As the rumour went, Class D had awoken in the old school dormitory six days ago, in the middle of the night. Nobody remembered how they had gotten there, and as the rumour went, some of them had lighters on them. A usually innocuous thing, until one remembered why the old school dormitory was out of commission.
The incident over where Hayama Hideo had been fired had been a fire, in that dormitory. A student had been unable to escape the blaze, and had been killed. A student in Class D.
Tragedy seemed to follow that class, it would appear. After the fire, the class had slowly deteriorated. Their grades had dropped, and they appeared to grow more paranoid over time, until the incident. And now their teacher had been killed.
Perhaps the girl was wrong, to let it distract her from the tragedy, but it had seemed too interconnected to be mere chance.
No, it was more than that. Before the incident in the old school dormitory six days ago, there had been another oddity which had concerned the girl. She had dismissed the connection earlier, because nobody had died until the oddity had passed, but if it was all connected, then perhaps that dismissal had been a mistake.
Kokutou Azaka had introduced Ryougi Shiki to Reien Girl's Academy.
Such a thing would, in most circumstances, be easily dismissed. That name is one most thought nothing of, apart from the fact that the Ryougi were a rich family. And that was note overly of note in Reien Girl's Academy. Wealthy families enrolling their daughters in the Academy was hardly new, and with the Student Council President demonstrating enough sway with the staff as she had, the monetary sway most of the well-off students had wasn't as impressive.
No, the name Ryougi Shiki would not mean much to most students in Reien Girl's Academy. But to those such as the girl, who knew who Ryougi was, the fact that she had been here was a disturbing thought. To most, she was simply a distant, perhaps rude figure. But the truth was, Ryougi Shiki's presence was an ill omen. From what the girl had heard from Ryougi, she was not easy to motivate, and from what the girl had experienced personally, what did motivate Ryougi was not safe for anyone else.
Asagami Fujino had seen firsthand, the extent that Ryougi Shiki would go to for the sake of killing another person. She would not be interested in a safe person as a victim, but with a suitable target, she would stop at nothing. The fact that Ryougi Shiki had come to Reien Girl's Academy had been a sign of danger to come, and Fujino had been a fool, to think otherwise.
Ryougi had already left by the time Kurogiri had been killed, so whatever her involvement had been, it had already ceased. Perhaps the incident six days ago had been what she had waited for. But as of the current moment, it was unlikely to have been Ryougi's hands who had killed Kurogiri. Even still, the involvement of that woman...
Fujino repressed a shudder, as she continued listening to the people around her.
"I wonder how Ouji's taking it..." Another girl said. "She was fond of Kurogiri, wasn't she?"
"Was she? I don't think I ever heard her talk about him."
"They'd meet together all the time. And of course you wouldn't have, Ouji doesn't gossip idly. Not since the fire..."
The girl tilted her head to position her ear towards that specific conversation. The student council president had been effected by the fire as well? She hadn't been part of Class D. Was this another connection which she had overlooked?
"The fire? You mean where-"
"Yes, that one. Tachibana had been Ouji's friend, you know. She hasn't been the same since, really."
Tachibana. That was the girl who had died in the fire. She was close to Ouji? In that case, perhaps it was her that tragedy was following, if she was also fond of the teacher who had been killed.
"Has anyone seen Ouji?" The conversation continued. "She's not here, and I don't think I've seen her around..."
"Not since yesterday." Someone else continued. "She was looking for some scissors just after class, I think she said?"
"I hope she's okay. She's been through a lot."
...She has, hadn't she?
Fujino kept her grip on her cane as she kept that train of thought.
Ouji Misaya was relatively well known in Reien, but Fujino had never given her too much thought. Now, the girl wondered if she should have paid more attention. Maybe Ouji was merely running late, but with a second person she cared about dying in only a handful of months...
Turning her head so as to look to another nearby group of students, Fujino adjusted her cane to tap along the edge of the bench to ensure she knew how far down it she could go, and slid down. The conversation around her faltered for a second as the cane tapped, Fujino noted. It was disappointing, Fujino mused, that she stuck out as abnormal now. But at the very least, being blind wasn't as bad as everyone knowing what she had done.
"Excuse me." The girl asked, smiling. "Has anyone seen the student council president?"
There was silence for a moment, before someone in the group responded.
"I heard a rumour that her dorm mate didn't see her last night." A girl whose voice Fujino didn't recognise began. "Apparently, all of her things were still there, but Ouji herself never turned up."
"I see..." Fujino muttered under her breath. "Everything was still there?"
"That's not what I heard." Another girl said. "Apparently, there was some things missing. Tachibana's old things, I think? Maybe Ouji was feeling sad and went to go somewhere to relive old times? Oh, that sounds almost romantic..."
"Tachibana's things?" A third voice asked. "I thought it was that the dormmate was missing a map, not that Ouji's old friends belongings disappeared as well."
"No, no, that's not it." The second voice said. "The map had been moved, but not taken. Someone had traced a location-"
"Hey guys." Another voice interrupted, sitting down next to Fujino. It took the girl a moment to recognise the voice. Seo Shizune, Azaka's dormmate. "What's up?"
"We're talking about Ouji." One of the girls Fujino was talking to replied. "I don't think anyone seen her since-"
"She's going to Karakura Town." Seo interrupted.
There was silence following her declaration, so Fujino took it upon herself to start the conversation again.
"Ah... How do you know what, Seo?"
The other girl hesitated for a moment, before she replied.
"I... Have a friend in the city, who saw her yesterday." She decided, eventually. "She said that Ouji was buying a train ticket to Karakura town, without even changing out of the Reien uniform. She seemed like she was in a hurry? I don't know, but they haven't been wrong about this before."
Seo did this often, Fujino reflected. She always seemed to know things and then give an unconvincing response as to how she knows, but always ended up right in the end. Maybe she was secretly sneaking out, or had a lover in the city she didn't want people to know about. But, if it was Seo saying it, then it was probably right.
But, why would Ouji be heading to Karakura town?
"Thank you, Seo." Fujino replied, smiling. "I was wondering where she was. Honestly, I was getting worried about her."
Maybe the rumours were accurate again, in what was missing. Maybe Ouji had run away with Tachibana's old belongings. Maybe Ouji wasn't doing too well, right now.
She didn't know the details, but she did know that Kurogiri's body was only found this morning, and he hadn't been seen after classes yesterday. Perhaps Ouji stumbled across his body before anyone else had, and ran away in a panic afterwards. Chances were, she wouldn't be feeling too good about herself right about now.
Perhaps Fujino was jumping to conclusions, making an assumption when she shouldn't, but it didn't sound as if Ouji was in the best state, right now. And Fujino had been going off of less evidence, when Risu was mourning her friend. If Fujino hadn't intervened then, then a classmate of hers would have died months ago.
Withdrawing from the conversation for a while, Fujino took a moment to think about it.
It would be easy enough, to get away from Reien. If she told the staff she was feeling concerned about her health, they would be obligated to let her leave the academy for a while. And if she was caught going to Karakura, she could just claim she was heading somewhere nearby to find a new doctor for a second opinion, just to be safe.
She did feel bad, honestly, about lying like that. But Fujino had made up her mind. She had done something terrible in the past, and yet when retribution came upon her, she was spared. Fujino had to prove that her survival wasn't a mistake, and if helping her classmates did that, then that would be what she did.
...No, more than that. Fujino did not have to prove that it was right for her to continue to live, she had to ensure that she atoned for the sins she had committed. Humans carried their sins with them forever. If Fujino wanted to be able to bear her burden, she had to continue to help others. A minor inconvenience like having to lie and missing a few days from school was nothing. With the sins she was bearing, such a thing was a merciful price, to lift that burden for but a moment.
Tonight, Fujino decided. She would go to Karakura town tonight, and find Ouji Misaya. If she needed help, then Fujino was here for that.
~~~~~
The hardest part about it was convincing the staff that Fujino would be fine on her own.That wasn't even that difficult, all things considered. It had been several months, and Fujino had adapted to her new blindness well enough. Nowadays, she didn't even need to cheat, with how well she had remembered Reien Girl's Academy's layout. The train to Karakura Town was more than capable of accommodating Fujino, and she was able to reach the small town fairly easily indeed.
After that, getting out of the train station was a bit of an ordeal, but one Fujino had grown accustomed to. People gave her space when they saw her cane, asking for guidance was easy enough, and even if she disliked moving so slowly, she had managed to leave the station and get into the city proper before long.
Now it was just a matter of finding a place to stay, for however long it took to find Ouji or hear that she was alright. A hotel of some description. Fujino knew it would be easy enough to simply ask, but...
Well, perhaps part of her wanted to do it the other way. The part of her Fujino should probably be ignoring, but which she could see the logic behind this time. She was in a new city, and an understanding of it's layout would make it easier for her to move. And besides, there was something about this town that was giving her the chills. An instinctual gut feeling, that it would be better this way.
It took some walking to manage it again, but the girl was able to get away from the station before long. Once that was done, and Fujino could no longer hear a crowd around her or cars moving through the street, she closed the eyes that kept opening reflexively without reason.
She knew she could do this without hurting anyone around her, she had done it before, but it was best to avoid the potential situation in which she was wrong. It was as easy as flicking a switch, really.
One moment, there was only darkness. The next, Fujino saw all.
This power of hers, the ESP she possessed, was a coincidentally useful ability. The blind, with the ability to see everything around them...
Ah, if only she could properly trust herself to use her ability constantly. But even if she had done this safely before, she couldn't trust her own thought process to understand when she goes too far.
No, it was better that she only used her power on rare occasions. In fact, thinking about it, the excuse she had come up with to do this now didn't even sound convincing to her. Perhaps she should-
The bird's eye view granted to Fujino through her power presented to her a sight that interrupted her mental progression.
How unexpected. Some kind of monster.
It was lurking in the shadows of an alleyway, laying in wait for something. What, Fujino wouldn't have been able to tell. The monster appeared to have some kind of mask fused into it's body, and a hole through what looked vaguely like a chest.
...What exactly was this? Fujino knew that the supernatural existed, but she had never encountered something like this before.
The monster in the alley three blocks behind peaked out of the shadows for a moment, then skittered back into it, vibrating slightly in anticipation. Shifting her clairvoyance, Fujino took a moment to observe why.
A human was walking down the street, towards the point where the alley began, where the monster would be. They appeared to be ignorant of the threat they were walking towards, even now.
Perhaps it was time that Fujino intervened, then? It would hardly be fitting, for her to simply overlook a situation in which someone is in danger, when she could so easily stop it.
She turned, using her cane to established the area around her body, which she was no longer watching, and made sure to swing it in a wide arc on the ground as she walked to ensure that anyone who happened to wander by would notice her distraction.
The monster was there, and by the second, the potential victim was drawing closer. As she closed in herself, Fujino took a moment to take a look at the person walking down the street.
[X] A boy with orange hair, looking around nervously as if worried that someone might see him.
[X] A girl with black hair, an annoyed expression on her face as she muttered to herself.
[X] A small girl, seemingly oblivious to the world around her.
Update 2
Mortifer
Embrace your inner lunatic. Fun times guaranteed.
- Location
- Under a rock.
[X] A girl with black hair, an annoyed expression on her face as she muttered to herself.
Fujino observed the girl for a moment. It was clear that something was annoying her, at the very least. A slightly hunched back, a faint scowl, her mouth constantly moving in what was clearly speech, even though there was nobody around to talk to her.
Perhaps it had something to do with the cast her arm was in, the girl mused. People were rather attached to their limbs.
Whatever it was that was annoying her, though, was hardly the issue right now. She wasn't taking any of the turns away, and at this point, she was drawing dangerously close to that monster.
Looking at it again, the monster reminded Fujino of a mantis. It's black body was long, lanky, and it's mask seemed more triangular than a human head. It's limbs curved at peculiar angles. It continued to vibrate, as the girl drew closer.
As she moved her body closer to the scene, Fujino observed the girl and the monster some more. It would be easy, to kill the monster right now. It painted a disturbing figure, but compared to Ryougi, it fell short. And even if it was somehow supernatural, the mantis-like body was thin.
The word was on her lips, even if they were unnecessary. The girl drew closer, as Fujino grew closer, and the monster's vibrations increased. And yet, she waited.
Perhaps it was on indulgence, Fujino taking the moment to observe the world through her own power again. She had come to live with the blindness, but when she came across moments like this, she let them linger. There was so much she would miss, when the darkness to return. In this moment, she could see the spiked black hair of the frustrated girl, just as she could see the tensing of the muscles on the monster as it prepared to pounce. Once this moment ended, she may never see either again.
This moment was worth treasuring, for as long as it lasted.
The next moment came, the girl passed the alley, and the mantis pounced.
As close as she was now, Fujino heard the scream, as the creature's arms grabbed the girl. One palm pressed in on the cast, and the other pushed down, forcing her to the ground. It was a pained scream, and a shocked one, and at that moment, Fujino acted.
Repeat the phrase enough, and it becomes a curse.
"Bend."
The arm pressing down on the girl's cast contorted, like a screw being undone. Bleed burst forth from the twisted point, and the creature gave a screech of pain. The girl stared up in shock, but reacted quickly enough, wresting her good arm free while the entity was in pain. Fujino felt a small pain in her eyes as she concentrated on the curse, the limb completing it's first complete rotation. The girl struck out against the limb that bled like a faucet, and the already weakened limb snapped.
Fujino felt a familiar sensation, as she watched the limb fall to the ground. Right now, she had little time to enjoy the feeling. Or enjoy feeling at all. As fascinating as it was to be able to feel pain again, she had little time to enjoy the stinging pain in her eyes, as her psychic power worked through them.
Feeling that pain allowed Fujino a semblance of normality. All her life, she had been insensitive, but once her power had been unlocked, the feeling came to her. But that normality wasn't something she deserved to embrace, if she could not earn it, and allowing someone to die as she watched and enjoyed the feeling would be another sin for her to bear.
The monster lunged down at the girl, it's bone white mask opening into a dark maw as it bit into her good arm, and another cry of pain echoed out. Turning away from her thoughts, Fujino focused on the mantis, and felt her power swirl around it's neck.
With a thought, Fujino watched it bend. The fangs trapped around the girl's arm tore flesh away, before it's mouth opened, and as she waited a few buildings away, and the scream that echoed out was decidedly more human than it had been previously.
The victim backed away, pushing herself to her feet with a hiss of pain, before letting her bloodied arm hang by her side. She backed away from the monster, and Fujino let her slip out of mind as she concentrated on the being's neck.
The mantis reeled away, and a snap echoed faintly. The masked head tore free from the body, and the monster collapsed. It twitched for a moment as it died.
That familiar sensation grew stronger, as Fujino observed the body. It's arm contorted, it's head torn asunder, because of her will. A life snuffed out because it was what she wished.
Slowly, Fujino brought a hand to her face, to confirm. She was smiling.
It didn't make a difference, then. A monster or a man, Asagami Fujino was a murderer who loved the thrill.
"What the..." Fujino heard another voice say, as she dropped her hand down. It took her a moment after that to realise how close she had come to the conflict she had been observing.
She was within earshot of the girl. As chances went, likely within sight as well. Within view of the monstrous corpse and the bleeding girl who seemed to be questioning what was happening.
That was troublesome. Fujino was not the best liar, and the last time something like this had happened, Fujino had failed to hide anything.
She did not regret the decision to save Miyazuki Risu. The girl had more of a right to life than Fujino herself had, even if she felt the guilt of what had happened to her friend. But in hindsight, the decisions Fujino had made in the process of saving the girl had been faulty.
Confessing to murder was not required to save Risu, and even ignoring the consequence to Fujino herself, a plan to terrify a suicidal person into fearing for their life was an ill thought out one. How much of it was that unconscious desire to kill influencing Fujino's decisions?
In the end, Risu had been saved, and the girl was thankful enough of Fujino's efforts that Fujino's confession was never spoken of again. But would a stranger who was saved with less personal interference feel the same, if she pushed hard enough and Fujino failed to keep her secret?
It'd be a lot simpler, she thought, to just twist her-
No.
Fujino caught the thought, and turned her ESP off. Her vision faded away into darkness, and the slight sting in her eyes faded away alongside the rest of her sense of pain.
There was something about her ESP that brought out the worst of her. It was not something she properly understood. It was not as if her power was the reason she felt happiness when she killed.
Before she could control when her power turned on and off, that night on the port, that was evidence enough. The second time Asagami Fujino met Ryougi Shiki, she was prepared to fight until her sense of pain went away again. She had lost her power and her will to fight, but the feeling had still been there. The feeling she hadn't wanted to accept she had felt, but undeniably so. Even without her power, she had smiled over the corpse.
The impact Fujino's ESP had on her was harder to place than that. And a thought to pursue another time. At the end of the day, the details were not that important right now. Right now, there was a stranger who had just been through an odd incident, and stumbled across Fujino standing within view. For now, it was more important to have this discussion.
"Hey." The girl said, calling out to Fujino. "Do you have any idea what's going on here?"
At least this question made it easy to play dumb, at least.
"I don't know what you mean." Fujino replied, smiling politely. "Did something happen, miss...?"
That should work out well enough. Making sure to move her cane around slightly a she did so, Fujino did her best to emphasis the point.
There was no reason for a blind girl to know about anything strange that happened nearby, after all.
There was silence for a moment, from the other girl, before she spoke again.
"What are you doing, standing around anyway?" She asked, her voice clearly agitated.
"Is there any reason why I shouldn't be?" Fujino asked in response.
"No." The girl continued. "But it's kinda weird that you were just standing around and doing nothing, after what just happened."
"I don't know what you mean, miss." Fujino stated again. "Are you okay? You seem agitated."
"I'm fine." The girl replied. "Just curious as to how you could've been standing so close and not have heard all the screaming, is all."
...Oh.
Perhaps, Fujino reflected, she had made a mistake with playing dumb. She had not thought that plan through as well as she could have.
"I don't get what's going on, not really." The girl admitted. "Some kind of... Invisible thing attacks me, then falls apart, and there's some girl standing around doing nothing and pretending that's nothing's going on. All of this is feeling familiar and I don't know why, I'm already dealing with a friend acting weird, and I just want to know what the hell's going on. Is that really too much to ask for?"
...Hm.
This had been a mistake, Fujino reflected. She was close to being caught out, here.
For as long as she had lived, Asagami Fujino had wanted to be normal. For as long as she could remember, she had been hiding things to appear normal. Her insensitivity to pain. What that gang had done to her, repeatedly. Her murders. You would think she would be better at hiding things, all things considered, but Fujino would often just avoid the conversation.
It was too late for that now, though. Avoiding topics was easier and simpler, when someone wasn't specifically looking for answers. And Fujino could see why someone would want an understanding of the supernatural, after what had happened. The supernatural world was one full of mysteries that Fujino had only the faintest idea about. Today, she had discovered that the supernatural extended beyond the ESP of certain humans.
Someone who had no idea that the supernatural existed at all would naturally be curious about it, upon facing it for the first time. Especially if their first experience was through violence. And did the girl just describe it as invisible?
There had to be more to it than just that if she had seen it fall, but that was odd. Fujino had seen the beast as clear as day. Perhaps her clairvoyance offered her sight beyond merely looking down at the world, then. But the point remained.
Perhaps Fujino could just tell the girl the basics. The supernatural existed, and she had some access to it. It would be letting a stranger know that Fujino was not normal, and the first stranger Fujino had come across at that, but it was hardly the worst secret. As long as she did not confess to murder again, she shouldn't have to worry too much.
Or perhaps Fujino could divert the topic, somehow. The girl had already admitted that she was agitated, and her arm was bleeding heavily the last Fujino had seen her. It should be possible for Fujino to simply blame the girl's injury, and say she was hallucinating because of blood loss, or something along those lines. It would give away that Fujino knew she was injured, but if the girl was convinced she needed to have her wound looked at as soon as possible, then Fujino should be able to avoid the conversation entirely.
Neither option was entirely appealing, but it wasn't as if Fujino could turn and run. She would trip over the first piece of uneven road if she kept any sort of pace meant to avoid the conversation.
Her concern heavy on her mind, Fujino spoke.
[X] The girl's injury was clearly influencing with her sense of reality. She should really have it looked at.
[X] There was no point hiding it. The supernatural did exist to a degree. Fujino had killed the creature.
Fujino observed the girl for a moment. It was clear that something was annoying her, at the very least. A slightly hunched back, a faint scowl, her mouth constantly moving in what was clearly speech, even though there was nobody around to talk to her.
Perhaps it had something to do with the cast her arm was in, the girl mused. People were rather attached to their limbs.
Whatever it was that was annoying her, though, was hardly the issue right now. She wasn't taking any of the turns away, and at this point, she was drawing dangerously close to that monster.
Looking at it again, the monster reminded Fujino of a mantis. It's black body was long, lanky, and it's mask seemed more triangular than a human head. It's limbs curved at peculiar angles. It continued to vibrate, as the girl drew closer.
As she moved her body closer to the scene, Fujino observed the girl and the monster some more. It would be easy, to kill the monster right now. It painted a disturbing figure, but compared to Ryougi, it fell short. And even if it was somehow supernatural, the mantis-like body was thin.
The word was on her lips, even if they were unnecessary. The girl drew closer, as Fujino grew closer, and the monster's vibrations increased. And yet, she waited.
Perhaps it was on indulgence, Fujino taking the moment to observe the world through her own power again. She had come to live with the blindness, but when she came across moments like this, she let them linger. There was so much she would miss, when the darkness to return. In this moment, she could see the spiked black hair of the frustrated girl, just as she could see the tensing of the muscles on the monster as it prepared to pounce. Once this moment ended, she may never see either again.
This moment was worth treasuring, for as long as it lasted.
The next moment came, the girl passed the alley, and the mantis pounced.
As close as she was now, Fujino heard the scream, as the creature's arms grabbed the girl. One palm pressed in on the cast, and the other pushed down, forcing her to the ground. It was a pained scream, and a shocked one, and at that moment, Fujino acted.
Repeat the phrase enough, and it becomes a curse.
"Bend."
The arm pressing down on the girl's cast contorted, like a screw being undone. Bleed burst forth from the twisted point, and the creature gave a screech of pain. The girl stared up in shock, but reacted quickly enough, wresting her good arm free while the entity was in pain. Fujino felt a small pain in her eyes as she concentrated on the curse, the limb completing it's first complete rotation. The girl struck out against the limb that bled like a faucet, and the already weakened limb snapped.
Fujino felt a familiar sensation, as she watched the limb fall to the ground. Right now, she had little time to enjoy the feeling. Or enjoy feeling at all. As fascinating as it was to be able to feel pain again, she had little time to enjoy the stinging pain in her eyes, as her psychic power worked through them.
Feeling that pain allowed Fujino a semblance of normality. All her life, she had been insensitive, but once her power had been unlocked, the feeling came to her. But that normality wasn't something she deserved to embrace, if she could not earn it, and allowing someone to die as she watched and enjoyed the feeling would be another sin for her to bear.
The monster lunged down at the girl, it's bone white mask opening into a dark maw as it bit into her good arm, and another cry of pain echoed out. Turning away from her thoughts, Fujino focused on the mantis, and felt her power swirl around it's neck.
With a thought, Fujino watched it bend. The fangs trapped around the girl's arm tore flesh away, before it's mouth opened, and as she waited a few buildings away, and the scream that echoed out was decidedly more human than it had been previously.
The victim backed away, pushing herself to her feet with a hiss of pain, before letting her bloodied arm hang by her side. She backed away from the monster, and Fujino let her slip out of mind as she concentrated on the being's neck.
The mantis reeled away, and a snap echoed faintly. The masked head tore free from the body, and the monster collapsed. It twitched for a moment as it died.
That familiar sensation grew stronger, as Fujino observed the body. It's arm contorted, it's head torn asunder, because of her will. A life snuffed out because it was what she wished.
Slowly, Fujino brought a hand to her face, to confirm. She was smiling.
It didn't make a difference, then. A monster or a man, Asagami Fujino was a murderer who loved the thrill.
"What the..." Fujino heard another voice say, as she dropped her hand down. It took her a moment after that to realise how close she had come to the conflict she had been observing.
She was within earshot of the girl. As chances went, likely within sight as well. Within view of the monstrous corpse and the bleeding girl who seemed to be questioning what was happening.
That was troublesome. Fujino was not the best liar, and the last time something like this had happened, Fujino had failed to hide anything.
She did not regret the decision to save Miyazuki Risu. The girl had more of a right to life than Fujino herself had, even if she felt the guilt of what had happened to her friend. But in hindsight, the decisions Fujino had made in the process of saving the girl had been faulty.
Confessing to murder was not required to save Risu, and even ignoring the consequence to Fujino herself, a plan to terrify a suicidal person into fearing for their life was an ill thought out one. How much of it was that unconscious desire to kill influencing Fujino's decisions?
In the end, Risu had been saved, and the girl was thankful enough of Fujino's efforts that Fujino's confession was never spoken of again. But would a stranger who was saved with less personal interference feel the same, if she pushed hard enough and Fujino failed to keep her secret?
It'd be a lot simpler, she thought, to just twist her-
No.
Fujino caught the thought, and turned her ESP off. Her vision faded away into darkness, and the slight sting in her eyes faded away alongside the rest of her sense of pain.
There was something about her ESP that brought out the worst of her. It was not something she properly understood. It was not as if her power was the reason she felt happiness when she killed.
Before she could control when her power turned on and off, that night on the port, that was evidence enough. The second time Asagami Fujino met Ryougi Shiki, she was prepared to fight until her sense of pain went away again. She had lost her power and her will to fight, but the feeling had still been there. The feeling she hadn't wanted to accept she had felt, but undeniably so. Even without her power, she had smiled over the corpse.
The impact Fujino's ESP had on her was harder to place than that. And a thought to pursue another time. At the end of the day, the details were not that important right now. Right now, there was a stranger who had just been through an odd incident, and stumbled across Fujino standing within view. For now, it was more important to have this discussion.
"Hey." The girl said, calling out to Fujino. "Do you have any idea what's going on here?"
At least this question made it easy to play dumb, at least.
"I don't know what you mean." Fujino replied, smiling politely. "Did something happen, miss...?"
That should work out well enough. Making sure to move her cane around slightly a she did so, Fujino did her best to emphasis the point.
There was no reason for a blind girl to know about anything strange that happened nearby, after all.
There was silence for a moment, from the other girl, before she spoke again.
"What are you doing, standing around anyway?" She asked, her voice clearly agitated.
"Is there any reason why I shouldn't be?" Fujino asked in response.
"No." The girl continued. "But it's kinda weird that you were just standing around and doing nothing, after what just happened."
"I don't know what you mean, miss." Fujino stated again. "Are you okay? You seem agitated."
"I'm fine." The girl replied. "Just curious as to how you could've been standing so close and not have heard all the screaming, is all."
...Oh.
Perhaps, Fujino reflected, she had made a mistake with playing dumb. She had not thought that plan through as well as she could have.
"I don't get what's going on, not really." The girl admitted. "Some kind of... Invisible thing attacks me, then falls apart, and there's some girl standing around doing nothing and pretending that's nothing's going on. All of this is feeling familiar and I don't know why, I'm already dealing with a friend acting weird, and I just want to know what the hell's going on. Is that really too much to ask for?"
...Hm.
This had been a mistake, Fujino reflected. She was close to being caught out, here.
For as long as she had lived, Asagami Fujino had wanted to be normal. For as long as she could remember, she had been hiding things to appear normal. Her insensitivity to pain. What that gang had done to her, repeatedly. Her murders. You would think she would be better at hiding things, all things considered, but Fujino would often just avoid the conversation.
It was too late for that now, though. Avoiding topics was easier and simpler, when someone wasn't specifically looking for answers. And Fujino could see why someone would want an understanding of the supernatural, after what had happened. The supernatural world was one full of mysteries that Fujino had only the faintest idea about. Today, she had discovered that the supernatural extended beyond the ESP of certain humans.
Someone who had no idea that the supernatural existed at all would naturally be curious about it, upon facing it for the first time. Especially if their first experience was through violence. And did the girl just describe it as invisible?
There had to be more to it than just that if she had seen it fall, but that was odd. Fujino had seen the beast as clear as day. Perhaps her clairvoyance offered her sight beyond merely looking down at the world, then. But the point remained.
Perhaps Fujino could just tell the girl the basics. The supernatural existed, and she had some access to it. It would be letting a stranger know that Fujino was not normal, and the first stranger Fujino had come across at that, but it was hardly the worst secret. As long as she did not confess to murder again, she shouldn't have to worry too much.
Or perhaps Fujino could divert the topic, somehow. The girl had already admitted that she was agitated, and her arm was bleeding heavily the last Fujino had seen her. It should be possible for Fujino to simply blame the girl's injury, and say she was hallucinating because of blood loss, or something along those lines. It would give away that Fujino knew she was injured, but if the girl was convinced she needed to have her wound looked at as soon as possible, then Fujino should be able to avoid the conversation entirely.
Neither option was entirely appealing, but it wasn't as if Fujino could turn and run. She would trip over the first piece of uneven road if she kept any sort of pace meant to avoid the conversation.
Her concern heavy on her mind, Fujino spoke.
[X] The girl's injury was clearly influencing with her sense of reality. She should really have it looked at.
[X] There was no point hiding it. The supernatural did exist to a degree. Fujino had killed the creature.
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Update 3
Mortifer
Embrace your inner lunatic. Fun times guaranteed.
- Location
- Under a rock.
[X] There was no point hiding it. The supernatural did exist to a degree. Fujino had killed the creature.
Fujino was completely aware of her faults. They were many, and terrible. But she has always been a terrible liar, who only kept secrets because nobody had ever asked directly.
That was really something she needed to correct at some point, but it wasn't as if she could just practice lying. Azaka might be talked into doing it, but that would lead to a discussion as to what she would be lying about in the first place, which wouldn't help at all.
Taking a breath to steel herself, Fujino made her decision. Time to come clean, then.
"Fine, then." Fujino said. "If you want to know, I'll tell you."
There was a moment of silence, which Fujino guessed was the girl reacting in surprise to the statement.
"...Well, alright then." She replied, the annoyance still in her voice. "What's going on?"
"This might be hard to believe." Fujino stated, clearly. "But what you would call the 'Supernatural' is real."
"Nice and blunt, I see." The girl muttered. "What do you mean, the supernatural? What was... Whatever just happened?"
"Some kind of monster." Fujino replied. "I'll be honest. I haven't encountered anything like it before. I noticed it due to my own ability, and when it attacked you, I stopped it."
"You're a psychic, then?" The girl asked, a note of hesitance in her voice. "Or an ESPer?"
Fujino nodded. "That's right. I'm sorry I can't say about the monster that attacked you. Up until now, all I've ever encountered of the supernatural was other people with ESP."
"I... Okay, then." The girl stated. "Supernatural things exist. Weird invisible monsters attack people and people with ESP can just... What did you even do to it? I could barely see something there, but it looked like it was falling apart."
Fujino took a moment to make sure she wasn't expressing any sort of emotion that would look weird when talking about killing something.
"I forced it's head off." She admitted. "It was the quickest way to do it."
"Okay, that makes sense, ESPers who can just make something lose it's head from a few buildings away." The girl repeated. "And there's monsters which people with ESP can sense."
"I'm not sure about that." Fujino took a moment to interrupt. "The only other person with an ability like this did not have the same ability as me. They did develop the ability to see the invisible, but-"
Fujino fought down the faint uneasy feeling crawling up her spine as she remembered the way Ryougi Shiki had ended their fight.
The slightly bloodied kimono by her twisted arm, the torn remnant of her jacket tied around the wound. The deliberate pace that Ryougi took as she walked forward. The small smile on her face was she simply swung her knife, and the way Fujino's ESP had been dismissed, like a leaf cut from the air. The frenzied panic which set in as Ryougi Shiki described her power, the frantic attempt to get through her guard and the pit that had formed in her stomach when she realised Ryougi had closed the distance.
"-Even then, it was nothing like what I do." Fujino concluded, with barely a noticeable pause in the statement.
It was not a pleasant memory, Fujino reflected. And how unfortunate it was, that it was one of the last things Fujino had ever seen. Ryougi Shiki may have spared Asagami Fujino for reasons which the girl did not know nor understand, but the intimidating presence was not going to disappear just because Fujino could not understand the woman. If anything, the inability to comprehend her only made the dread worse.
She didn't know if the other girl had noticed the pause in Fujino's statement, though. Or if she had picked up on anything about Fujino's expression or posture that would imply an unpleasant memory. She was quiet for another moment, but was she deep in thought, or was she looking at Fujino suspiciously? It was at times like this that Fujino wished that she still had functional eyes. It was hard enough to understand people when she could still see them.
"Why... Does this all seem familiar?" The girl mutters to herself, low enough that Fujino doubted that she was supposed to hear it.
"Why does what seem familiar?" Fujino asked, regardless.
"Hm? Oh, sorry." The girl answered. "Just thinking out loud. Can't shake the feeling. Don't know why. I feel like I would remember if something like this had happened before... Ah, it's probably nothing, never mind."
How odd. The girl was right, you wouldn't really forget an encounter like that, so it feeling familiar would be hard to explain. Perhaps the sense of deja vu was from something else?
Well, never mind. Fujino had more important things to worry about, at this time.
"While we're here, may I ask a question?" Fujino asked. "As you can see, I am not really equipped to find my own way around. Do you know where I can find a hotel to stay?"
"Uh, sure." The girl took a moment to reply, sounding a bit distant. Perhaps she was not yet used to the revelation as of just yet. "Um, do you want to follow me, or would you prefer I just walked behind you and gave instructions?"
"Whatever you would prefer." Fujino replied, with a smile.
There was silence for another long moment.
"Wait, right, nodding won't- I got you. I'll follow."
Fujino nodded, and as she heard the footsteps of the girl walking behind her, it occurred to her that they had yet to introduces themselves.
"I should have mentioned earlier." She said. "I'm Asagami Fujino. Can I ask your name?"
"Arisawa." The girl replied. "Arisawa Tatsuki. Are you here for the school break?"
Sch-
Oh, right, this was around the time of year where public schools would be in break, wouldn't it? Reien's school calendar was not the same as any other school. It would likely be easier if Fujino did not mention that, though.
"Medical reasons." Fujino replied, offhand. "Nothing serious, don't worry. I'm only here because my last doctor missed something for so long that I'm trying to get a few more opinions."
There was silence for a moment, as Arisawa came to a step behind Fujino, avoiding the conversation in any further depth. Likely out of a sense of politeness.
"Should we go, then?" Fujino asked.
"Yeah, sure." Arisawa replied. "Just go straight for now. There's a turn ahead, I'll let you know when you get to it."
The two girls walked on for a bit, before Arisawa filled the silence.
"Thanks for saving me, by the way." She said. "I'm... Don't worry, I'm fine. Got a bit of a cut, but it's not too bad."
"Are you sure?" Fujino asked, fully aware of how bad the injury was. "Maybe you should get it disinfected, or-"
"Nah, it's good." The girl replied. "I've got some cloth on me, I'm putting pressure on it. I'll get it looked at after I've given you a hand, don't worry. Besides, this'd be a lot worse without you being around, so I owe you one."
Well, if she said so. Fujino was a bad judge at how bad an injury would be anyway. She knew people panicked over injuries, but had no way of measuring how bad a wound would be. A relic of her life without pain. Arisawa must have known more than Fujino did.
"If you're only helping me out of obligation, please, don't feel forced." Fujino said back to her guide. "I should be able to find someone else easily enough."
"Relax, I wasn't doing anything anyway." Arisawa assured her. "It's break, most of my friends are busy or out of town."
"if you insist." Fujino commented, as she walked on.
"Road's coming up, by the way." Arisawa noted. "Take a right up here."
Fujino nodded, and swept her cane around in that direction to make sure it was clear, before moving her body.
"Shuffle to the left a bit more." Arisawa noted. "You'll run into a sign if you stand there."
"Thank you." Asagami replied.
After a moment of thought, something occurred to her.
"Oh, Arisawa, can I ask you something?" Fujino asked. "A classmate of mine disappeared without telling anyone where she was going, recently. People said she's likely in Karakura Town, so I was wondering if you've seen her."
"There's been a few people from other towns dropping by." Arisawa replied. "I've seen a few people wandering around while they wait for a train to somewhere else, or dropping by the store. Who are you looking for?"
"Misaya Ouji." Fujino replied. "She has long hair. A lighter shade than mine, but a similar colour. Her dorm mate said all of her belongings are still in her room, so she's probably wearing the same uniform as I am."
"I don't remember seeing anyone like that." Arisawa replied. "Sorry. I'll let you know if I do, though."
"Thank you." Fujino replied. "She's been through some rough times recently. I want to give her a hand, if I can."
"Do you know anywhere where she might go?" Arisawa asked. "I needed something to do today anyway, I could keep an eye out for you. It's the least I could do."
"You're already doing me a favour by helping me find a hotel, Arisawa." Fujino commented. "Don't force yourself for my sake."
Though, now that she thought about it, Fujino really had no idea.
What kind of person was Misaya Ouji, anyway? She was the student council president, from a wealthy family. Supposedly, she was stern, but Fujino had never interacted with her much. All Fujino knew was that Misaya's friend had died recently, and a teacher she was close too died even more recently. She didn't have any real way of knowing where Misaya would be going, or what should would be doing.
This was hardly an easy task, Fujino reflected. But then, she would not want it to be. She was a murderer. Her continued existence was something that she did not deserve, and Fujino would never be able to accept a life in which she simply lived with the guilt and did nothing.
She did hope that the monster she had encountered earlier had been a one of a kind thing, though. It would be worrying if there was more than one of them, and Misaya had already proven to be something of a magnet for strange things causing problems.
"So, you're gonna be in Karakura for a while?" Arisawa asked, behind her, and Fujino took a moment to think of her reply.
"A few days, at the very least." Fujino replied. "I would like to spend some time asking around about Misaya. But I don't think I'll still be in the town for long after I have my check up."
For the most part, because she would not be able to. The last time Fujino had been left Reien for longer than she was supposed to, she had been hospitalised and blinded. She doubted that the academy would let her stay out for too long so soon after that, for fear of a repeat. And even if they sent nobody, Azaka would definitely look for her. She had felt bad when she had found out what had happened to Fujino, in so short a time since they parted.
It was troublesome to be sure. She was on a time limit, essentially, though she should at least be able to buy time if she claimed the doctor in town was processing records, or had been booked out for a few days.
Fujino still had to go and look for the doctor around here, she took the moment to think. Just so she was able to get her excuses in order.
With Arisawa giving directions, it didn't take long for Fujino to get to the hotel in town. It'd be simple enough to book a room from here.
"Thank you for your help." Fujino stated, turning her head as if she was looking back at the girl. "It's appreciated."
"It's nothing." Arisawa shrugged again. "Well, see you around."
Fujino hesitated with her farewell for a moment, as she took a moment to think.
Now that she thought about it, there was something she should look into tomorrow, and perhaps Arisawa would be able to answer a question so Fujino could work through it easier.
[X] She should get the doctors visit out of the way early. Fujino should ask Arisawa if she knows where she could got an appointment.
[X] Perhaps she should look more into the supernatural. Maybe if she was asked, Arisawa might remember an old rumour or relevant claim?
Fujino was completely aware of her faults. They were many, and terrible. But she has always been a terrible liar, who only kept secrets because nobody had ever asked directly.
That was really something she needed to correct at some point, but it wasn't as if she could just practice lying. Azaka might be talked into doing it, but that would lead to a discussion as to what she would be lying about in the first place, which wouldn't help at all.
Taking a breath to steel herself, Fujino made her decision. Time to come clean, then.
"Fine, then." Fujino said. "If you want to know, I'll tell you."
There was a moment of silence, which Fujino guessed was the girl reacting in surprise to the statement.
"...Well, alright then." She replied, the annoyance still in her voice. "What's going on?"
"This might be hard to believe." Fujino stated, clearly. "But what you would call the 'Supernatural' is real."
"Nice and blunt, I see." The girl muttered. "What do you mean, the supernatural? What was... Whatever just happened?"
"Some kind of monster." Fujino replied. "I'll be honest. I haven't encountered anything like it before. I noticed it due to my own ability, and when it attacked you, I stopped it."
"You're a psychic, then?" The girl asked, a note of hesitance in her voice. "Or an ESPer?"
Fujino nodded. "That's right. I'm sorry I can't say about the monster that attacked you. Up until now, all I've ever encountered of the supernatural was other people with ESP."
"I... Okay, then." The girl stated. "Supernatural things exist. Weird invisible monsters attack people and people with ESP can just... What did you even do to it? I could barely see something there, but it looked like it was falling apart."
Fujino took a moment to make sure she wasn't expressing any sort of emotion that would look weird when talking about killing something.
"I forced it's head off." She admitted. "It was the quickest way to do it."
"Okay, that makes sense, ESPers who can just make something lose it's head from a few buildings away." The girl repeated. "And there's monsters which people with ESP can sense."
"I'm not sure about that." Fujino took a moment to interrupt. "The only other person with an ability like this did not have the same ability as me. They did develop the ability to see the invisible, but-"
Fujino fought down the faint uneasy feeling crawling up her spine as she remembered the way Ryougi Shiki had ended their fight.
The slightly bloodied kimono by her twisted arm, the torn remnant of her jacket tied around the wound. The deliberate pace that Ryougi took as she walked forward. The small smile on her face was she simply swung her knife, and the way Fujino's ESP had been dismissed, like a leaf cut from the air. The frenzied panic which set in as Ryougi Shiki described her power, the frantic attempt to get through her guard and the pit that had formed in her stomach when she realised Ryougi had closed the distance.
"-Even then, it was nothing like what I do." Fujino concluded, with barely a noticeable pause in the statement.
It was not a pleasant memory, Fujino reflected. And how unfortunate it was, that it was one of the last things Fujino had ever seen. Ryougi Shiki may have spared Asagami Fujino for reasons which the girl did not know nor understand, but the intimidating presence was not going to disappear just because Fujino could not understand the woman. If anything, the inability to comprehend her only made the dread worse.
She didn't know if the other girl had noticed the pause in Fujino's statement, though. Or if she had picked up on anything about Fujino's expression or posture that would imply an unpleasant memory. She was quiet for another moment, but was she deep in thought, or was she looking at Fujino suspiciously? It was at times like this that Fujino wished that she still had functional eyes. It was hard enough to understand people when she could still see them.
"Why... Does this all seem familiar?" The girl mutters to herself, low enough that Fujino doubted that she was supposed to hear it.
"Why does what seem familiar?" Fujino asked, regardless.
"Hm? Oh, sorry." The girl answered. "Just thinking out loud. Can't shake the feeling. Don't know why. I feel like I would remember if something like this had happened before... Ah, it's probably nothing, never mind."
How odd. The girl was right, you wouldn't really forget an encounter like that, so it feeling familiar would be hard to explain. Perhaps the sense of deja vu was from something else?
Well, never mind. Fujino had more important things to worry about, at this time.
"While we're here, may I ask a question?" Fujino asked. "As you can see, I am not really equipped to find my own way around. Do you know where I can find a hotel to stay?"
"Uh, sure." The girl took a moment to reply, sounding a bit distant. Perhaps she was not yet used to the revelation as of just yet. "Um, do you want to follow me, or would you prefer I just walked behind you and gave instructions?"
"Whatever you would prefer." Fujino replied, with a smile.
There was silence for another long moment.
"Wait, right, nodding won't- I got you. I'll follow."
Fujino nodded, and as she heard the footsteps of the girl walking behind her, it occurred to her that they had yet to introduces themselves.
"I should have mentioned earlier." She said. "I'm Asagami Fujino. Can I ask your name?"
"Arisawa." The girl replied. "Arisawa Tatsuki. Are you here for the school break?"
Sch-
Oh, right, this was around the time of year where public schools would be in break, wouldn't it? Reien's school calendar was not the same as any other school. It would likely be easier if Fujino did not mention that, though.
"Medical reasons." Fujino replied, offhand. "Nothing serious, don't worry. I'm only here because my last doctor missed something for so long that I'm trying to get a few more opinions."
There was silence for a moment, as Arisawa came to a step behind Fujino, avoiding the conversation in any further depth. Likely out of a sense of politeness.
"Should we go, then?" Fujino asked.
"Yeah, sure." Arisawa replied. "Just go straight for now. There's a turn ahead, I'll let you know when you get to it."
The two girls walked on for a bit, before Arisawa filled the silence.
"Thanks for saving me, by the way." She said. "I'm... Don't worry, I'm fine. Got a bit of a cut, but it's not too bad."
"Are you sure?" Fujino asked, fully aware of how bad the injury was. "Maybe you should get it disinfected, or-"
"Nah, it's good." The girl replied. "I've got some cloth on me, I'm putting pressure on it. I'll get it looked at after I've given you a hand, don't worry. Besides, this'd be a lot worse without you being around, so I owe you one."
Well, if she said so. Fujino was a bad judge at how bad an injury would be anyway. She knew people panicked over injuries, but had no way of measuring how bad a wound would be. A relic of her life without pain. Arisawa must have known more than Fujino did.
"If you're only helping me out of obligation, please, don't feel forced." Fujino said back to her guide. "I should be able to find someone else easily enough."
"Relax, I wasn't doing anything anyway." Arisawa assured her. "It's break, most of my friends are busy or out of town."
"if you insist." Fujino commented, as she walked on.
"Road's coming up, by the way." Arisawa noted. "Take a right up here."
Fujino nodded, and swept her cane around in that direction to make sure it was clear, before moving her body.
"Shuffle to the left a bit more." Arisawa noted. "You'll run into a sign if you stand there."
"Thank you." Asagami replied.
After a moment of thought, something occurred to her.
"Oh, Arisawa, can I ask you something?" Fujino asked. "A classmate of mine disappeared without telling anyone where she was going, recently. People said she's likely in Karakura Town, so I was wondering if you've seen her."
"There's been a few people from other towns dropping by." Arisawa replied. "I've seen a few people wandering around while they wait for a train to somewhere else, or dropping by the store. Who are you looking for?"
"Misaya Ouji." Fujino replied. "She has long hair. A lighter shade than mine, but a similar colour. Her dorm mate said all of her belongings are still in her room, so she's probably wearing the same uniform as I am."
"I don't remember seeing anyone like that." Arisawa replied. "Sorry. I'll let you know if I do, though."
"Thank you." Fujino replied. "She's been through some rough times recently. I want to give her a hand, if I can."
"Do you know anywhere where she might go?" Arisawa asked. "I needed something to do today anyway, I could keep an eye out for you. It's the least I could do."
"You're already doing me a favour by helping me find a hotel, Arisawa." Fujino commented. "Don't force yourself for my sake."
Though, now that she thought about it, Fujino really had no idea.
What kind of person was Misaya Ouji, anyway? She was the student council president, from a wealthy family. Supposedly, she was stern, but Fujino had never interacted with her much. All Fujino knew was that Misaya's friend had died recently, and a teacher she was close too died even more recently. She didn't have any real way of knowing where Misaya would be going, or what should would be doing.
This was hardly an easy task, Fujino reflected. But then, she would not want it to be. She was a murderer. Her continued existence was something that she did not deserve, and Fujino would never be able to accept a life in which she simply lived with the guilt and did nothing.
She did hope that the monster she had encountered earlier had been a one of a kind thing, though. It would be worrying if there was more than one of them, and Misaya had already proven to be something of a magnet for strange things causing problems.
"So, you're gonna be in Karakura for a while?" Arisawa asked, behind her, and Fujino took a moment to think of her reply.
"A few days, at the very least." Fujino replied. "I would like to spend some time asking around about Misaya. But I don't think I'll still be in the town for long after I have my check up."
For the most part, because she would not be able to. The last time Fujino had been left Reien for longer than she was supposed to, she had been hospitalised and blinded. She doubted that the academy would let her stay out for too long so soon after that, for fear of a repeat. And even if they sent nobody, Azaka would definitely look for her. She had felt bad when she had found out what had happened to Fujino, in so short a time since they parted.
It was troublesome to be sure. She was on a time limit, essentially, though she should at least be able to buy time if she claimed the doctor in town was processing records, or had been booked out for a few days.
Fujino still had to go and look for the doctor around here, she took the moment to think. Just so she was able to get her excuses in order.
With Arisawa giving directions, it didn't take long for Fujino to get to the hotel in town. It'd be simple enough to book a room from here.
"Thank you for your help." Fujino stated, turning her head as if she was looking back at the girl. "It's appreciated."
"It's nothing." Arisawa shrugged again. "Well, see you around."
Fujino hesitated with her farewell for a moment, as she took a moment to think.
Now that she thought about it, there was something she should look into tomorrow, and perhaps Arisawa would be able to answer a question so Fujino could work through it easier.
[X] She should get the doctors visit out of the way early. Fujino should ask Arisawa if she knows where she could got an appointment.
[X] Perhaps she should look more into the supernatural. Maybe if she was asked, Arisawa might remember an old rumour or relevant claim?
Update 4
Mortifer
Embrace your inner lunatic. Fun times guaranteed.
- Location
- Under a rock.
[X] She should get the doctors visit out of the way early. Fujino should ask Arisawa if she knows where she could got an appointment.
"Before you go, Arisawa?" Fujino asked. She waited for a moment, to be sure. People usually take a second to properly focus, and Arisawa was preparing to leave, so it would be best to be certain that she was paying attention. "Do you know where I can find a doctor who can give me a check-up? It's a bit hard to check advertisements, you see."
There was a pause, and Fujino took a moment to try to work out if she was looking at Arisawa or not. The girl was walking behind her on the way to the hotel and Fujino hadn't turned around, but had she moved to talk, or was she still behind Fujino?
"There's a few places." Arisawa replied from behind her. That answered that question, Fujino thought, as she turned to face towards the source of the voice. "The Kurosaki clinic is the closest place, though. At least, I think so. It's where I usually go. It's a small place, but it's got basically everything. Unless you need surgery, but if you're just getting looked at, it'll be fine."
"Thank you." Fujino replied. "If I asked around, would anyone be able to show me the way?"
Another moment of silence passed by. "Oh- Right, yeah. Yeah, people know where it is. I should mention that the doctor can be a bit, uh, eccentric, at times. He knows what he's doing, though."
Eccentric?
Well, it didn't matter, in the end. Fujino was fairly sure she was okay, so the doctor didn't matter beyond being an excuse. Of course, she also failed to realise the source of her pain, and if it hadn't been for the incident with the bridge, Fujino wouldn't have found out what was wrong with her until it killed her. But Fujino had been fine on all the previous check-ups and would be having another soon, so even if Arisawa was wrong and the doctor's eccentricity was a failing, one of the doctors should catch something at some point.
"Thank you, Arisawa." Fujino smiled. "I hope we can meet again."
"Yeah." Arisawa replied. "I'll be going now, then. Bye."
"Farewell."
Fujino turned away from Arisawa, and felt around with her cane until she could find the door.
Yes, this would work. She'd make her way over in the morning. For now, she'd just need to get someone to help her with a phone. The train station had held onto her luggage and could deliver it, so all she needed to do is give them an address and a room number. She'd just need to make sure she had the copy of her medical records with her so she could bring them in to the clinic.
Hopefully, the delivery wouldn't take too long. It was too late right now to really do anything, so all she would be able to do until tomorrow was make sure everything was in order. Maybe work on learning to read braille. It was still a struggle, and while Reien was making allowances for her studies so far, it would be a lot easier if she could actually do her schoolwork without having someone read it to her or make a recording.
Or using her clairvoyance, but that had it's own issues. She didn't want to get to rely on it, anyway. On top of that, she didn't want people to know what kind of person she was. The more normal she acted, the better. And in this case, being normal meant adapting to being blind like a normal person.
Feeling the cane touching the door, Fujino stepped towards it, and felt around for the door knob. She took a moment to fumble around for it, before she found the handle. Maybe it was just Fujino's imagination, but it felt almost like it was a bit higher on the door than the ones in Reien...
Well, that hardly mattered for now. She just had to handle the hotel arrangements for tonight, and tomorrow, visit the doctor early and get to looking for Misaya.
Hopefully, she would be able to find her before too long.
Assuming the directions people had given her were accurate, then the clinic should be around here somewhere. She just had to hope that someone else passed by soon so they could point Fujino towards the right building.
"Excuse me?" A voice to her side asked. Fujino turned her head around to the speaker, which sounded like a girl smaller than her, to acknowledge it. "Are you looking for something?"
"Ah, yes." Fujino replied. "I'm trying to find my way to Kurosaki clinic, but-"
"It's right here." The girl replied, an annoyed tone to her voice. "There's a sign and everything. You were walking right past it."
Fujino tapped her cane on the ground. "Is it? I'm sorry, I lost my sight a few months ago."
There was a moment of silence. Fujino was making an assumption here, based on the somewhat rude tone the girl had taken a moment ago, but she was assuming the girl had just realised that she was getting annoyed at the blind person for not seeing something.
"Oh sh- I'm sorry, I didn't notice, I didn't mean to be rude." The girl frantically apologised.
"It's okay." Fujino replied, with a smile. "I just need to find the clinic to make an appointment. Or have a check-up if the doctor is free-"
"It's right here." The girl interrupted. "And old Goatface isn't doing anything. I'll go talk to him, just wait a second."
Footsteps sounded out, and Fujino took a moment before she could even think to react. The girl was running off to talk to the doctor for her? And she was supposed to just stand out in the street?
...Goatface?
That was certainly a mental image. What did the doctor look like that people compared him to a goat?
Perhaps she should't think about it. Whatever she came up with would probably be less impressive than what he actually ended up looking like, and if he was ever around at some point where Fujino used her clairvoyance, she would just be setting herself up for disappointment.
Footsteps drew close again, and Fujino stopped thinking about it as people came closer.
"You were looking for me?" The voice asked. "Kurosaki Isshin, the doctor. Can I help you?"
"Ah, hello." The girl replied. "Asagami Fujino. I'm from out of town. I was hoping I could have a quick check up?"
"Certainly." Kurosaki replied. "Come in, come in. Do you want my daughter to help you in?"
Daughter?
"I'm fine." Fujino replied. "Is your daughter here?"
"Hello." A small girl's voice replied, a different one from earlier. "Dad's clinic is part of the house, by the way. Since you can't tell. My sister Karin was out here a moment ago, but she's inside now."
Oh. That explained why the girl just ran in to get the doctor. Though using a nickname like that for her father was a bit disrespectful, wasn't it?
"I have some records with me." Fujino noted, holding up the plastic bag. "In case you needed to look at them."
"I'll make sure to look over those." Kurosaki replied. "Yuzu, show Asagami to the clinic proper. I'll go put on proper doctor garments."
A voice echoed out, from inside the house. "You can just wear what you're wearing now!"
"But Karin!" The doctor replied, his voice suddenly becoming childlike, as if complaining to a stern mother. "What's the point of being a doctor if I don't look the part?"
"Getting paid!"
"Ah, Masaki, our children are so mean..." Kurosaki said to himself.
Fujino blinked.
This must have been what Arisawa meant when she said that the doctor at the Kurosaki clinic was eccentric. She couldn't say she expected anything like this, if she was honest.
Turning towards where Fujino had last heard the daughter talk from, she gestured to the man.
"Is he... Always like this?"
"He tones it down when there's patients here." She replied, slightly to the left of where Fujino's eyes were pointed.
Oh.
Perhaps now was a good time to focus on what Fujino was here for.
"I'll follow you now." She nodded, making sure to twist her head to look at the girl. "Please, lead the way."
"Okay." The girl replied.
There was some footsteps, and Fujino noted two sets moving. One of them was probably Doctor Kurosaki, so she waited a second, for him to move out of the way.
It didn't take long after that for Fujino to follow Kurosaki Yuzu to whichever room was the right one, and Doctor Kurosaki was there a few moments later.
"Alright, Miss Asagami." He said, as Fujino heard some papers moving. "It says here that I should just send the bill to your family later?"
"Would you prefer cash?" Fujino asked. "I could get some quickly if you would like it."
"It's fine, it's fine." Kurosaki replied. "It's just a routine check-up, the payment isn't big enough to be worth making a big deal over how I'm getting it. Karin, hold this for me for a second."
"Alright." Said the girl that Fujino had first run into outside. "Uh... Asagami? Sorry about earlier. I didn't know you were... Well, sorry."
"It's alright." Fujino answered. "It's like you said, you didn't know."
"Alright, then." Doctor Kurosaki noted. "Asagami, do you have anything noteworthy to add? Any unexplained sensations or pain?"
The answer to that was obvious, though not for the reason anyone else would have thought. "No."
"Any explained pain?" He continued. "Any cuts or bruises? Anything that might be worse than you thought?"
"I don't think so." Fujino continued.
It wasn't an overly committal answer, which was the best she could really do. If there was an issue, it would raise questions as to why she hadn't noticed. By saying it like this, then maybe if there was an issue, she could just say she didn't think it was too important.
It was hardly like she could just confess to being unable to feel pain.
"I see..." Doctor Kurosaki noted.
Some kind of mechanical device started beeping around him, and the doctor made a startled sound at it.
"What is it?" Asagami asked. "Is there a problem?"
"No, it's nothing." Kurosaki replied. "Well, nothing to do with you. Hold on a second, I need to make a call real fast to check something. Stay here, I'll be right back."
A door opened a second later, and the doctor left the room.
"...Jeez, that guy." Sighed the girl who had been referred to as Karin earlier. "Leaving in the middle of a check up, what could be that important?"
"It's okay." Fujino stated, from her seat. "This is just a minor thing. If something is happening, it's probably more important than this."
"You don't need to make excuses for him." Grumbled the girl. "Jeez, everyone's been acting weird recently. First Ichigo starts getting all quiet around about when school ended, now this..."
"There has been a lot of weird things going on recently, actually." The other girl, Yuzu, noted. "Like the truck. Ichigo'd been acting weird for a while before now, anyway."
Weird things were going on here, too?
How strange. It was looking more people were noticing strange things around them all the time, more often. There had also been the oddities surrounding Misaya, too. And the oddity regarding that monster which had attacked Arisawa. Perhaps everything was related, to some degree?
Or maybe Fujino was jumping to conclusions. She really needed to know more, before concluding anything.
[X] Ask about the weird things that had been going on. Maybe there would be a common link.
[X] Ask if either of the two girls had seen Misaya. That was the important thing, more than anything.
"Before you go, Arisawa?" Fujino asked. She waited for a moment, to be sure. People usually take a second to properly focus, and Arisawa was preparing to leave, so it would be best to be certain that she was paying attention. "Do you know where I can find a doctor who can give me a check-up? It's a bit hard to check advertisements, you see."
There was a pause, and Fujino took a moment to try to work out if she was looking at Arisawa or not. The girl was walking behind her on the way to the hotel and Fujino hadn't turned around, but had she moved to talk, or was she still behind Fujino?
"There's a few places." Arisawa replied from behind her. That answered that question, Fujino thought, as she turned to face towards the source of the voice. "The Kurosaki clinic is the closest place, though. At least, I think so. It's where I usually go. It's a small place, but it's got basically everything. Unless you need surgery, but if you're just getting looked at, it'll be fine."
"Thank you." Fujino replied. "If I asked around, would anyone be able to show me the way?"
Another moment of silence passed by. "Oh- Right, yeah. Yeah, people know where it is. I should mention that the doctor can be a bit, uh, eccentric, at times. He knows what he's doing, though."
Eccentric?
Well, it didn't matter, in the end. Fujino was fairly sure she was okay, so the doctor didn't matter beyond being an excuse. Of course, she also failed to realise the source of her pain, and if it hadn't been for the incident with the bridge, Fujino wouldn't have found out what was wrong with her until it killed her. But Fujino had been fine on all the previous check-ups and would be having another soon, so even if Arisawa was wrong and the doctor's eccentricity was a failing, one of the doctors should catch something at some point.
"Thank you, Arisawa." Fujino smiled. "I hope we can meet again."
"Yeah." Arisawa replied. "I'll be going now, then. Bye."
"Farewell."
Fujino turned away from Arisawa, and felt around with her cane until she could find the door.
Yes, this would work. She'd make her way over in the morning. For now, she'd just need to get someone to help her with a phone. The train station had held onto her luggage and could deliver it, so all she needed to do is give them an address and a room number. She'd just need to make sure she had the copy of her medical records with her so she could bring them in to the clinic.
Hopefully, the delivery wouldn't take too long. It was too late right now to really do anything, so all she would be able to do until tomorrow was make sure everything was in order. Maybe work on learning to read braille. It was still a struggle, and while Reien was making allowances for her studies so far, it would be a lot easier if she could actually do her schoolwork without having someone read it to her or make a recording.
Or using her clairvoyance, but that had it's own issues. She didn't want to get to rely on it, anyway. On top of that, she didn't want people to know what kind of person she was. The more normal she acted, the better. And in this case, being normal meant adapting to being blind like a normal person.
Feeling the cane touching the door, Fujino stepped towards it, and felt around for the door knob. She took a moment to fumble around for it, before she found the handle. Maybe it was just Fujino's imagination, but it felt almost like it was a bit higher on the door than the ones in Reien...
Well, that hardly mattered for now. She just had to handle the hotel arrangements for tonight, and tomorrow, visit the doctor early and get to looking for Misaya.
Hopefully, she would be able to find her before too long.
~~~~~
The sunlight covered Fujino as she walked down the street, holding a plastic bag with the copy of her medical records by her side. Maybe she should have listened to Azaka and bought a purse to carry around important things, but she hadn't thought she would be in a scenario like this before.Assuming the directions people had given her were accurate, then the clinic should be around here somewhere. She just had to hope that someone else passed by soon so they could point Fujino towards the right building.
"Excuse me?" A voice to her side asked. Fujino turned her head around to the speaker, which sounded like a girl smaller than her, to acknowledge it. "Are you looking for something?"
"Ah, yes." Fujino replied. "I'm trying to find my way to Kurosaki clinic, but-"
"It's right here." The girl replied, an annoyed tone to her voice. "There's a sign and everything. You were walking right past it."
Fujino tapped her cane on the ground. "Is it? I'm sorry, I lost my sight a few months ago."
There was a moment of silence. Fujino was making an assumption here, based on the somewhat rude tone the girl had taken a moment ago, but she was assuming the girl had just realised that she was getting annoyed at the blind person for not seeing something.
"Oh sh- I'm sorry, I didn't notice, I didn't mean to be rude." The girl frantically apologised.
"It's okay." Fujino replied, with a smile. "I just need to find the clinic to make an appointment. Or have a check-up if the doctor is free-"
"It's right here." The girl interrupted. "And old Goatface isn't doing anything. I'll go talk to him, just wait a second."
Footsteps sounded out, and Fujino took a moment before she could even think to react. The girl was running off to talk to the doctor for her? And she was supposed to just stand out in the street?
...Goatface?
That was certainly a mental image. What did the doctor look like that people compared him to a goat?
Perhaps she should't think about it. Whatever she came up with would probably be less impressive than what he actually ended up looking like, and if he was ever around at some point where Fujino used her clairvoyance, she would just be setting herself up for disappointment.
Footsteps drew close again, and Fujino stopped thinking about it as people came closer.
"You were looking for me?" The voice asked. "Kurosaki Isshin, the doctor. Can I help you?"
"Ah, hello." The girl replied. "Asagami Fujino. I'm from out of town. I was hoping I could have a quick check up?"
"Certainly." Kurosaki replied. "Come in, come in. Do you want my daughter to help you in?"
Daughter?
"I'm fine." Fujino replied. "Is your daughter here?"
"Hello." A small girl's voice replied, a different one from earlier. "Dad's clinic is part of the house, by the way. Since you can't tell. My sister Karin was out here a moment ago, but she's inside now."
Oh. That explained why the girl just ran in to get the doctor. Though using a nickname like that for her father was a bit disrespectful, wasn't it?
"I have some records with me." Fujino noted, holding up the plastic bag. "In case you needed to look at them."
"I'll make sure to look over those." Kurosaki replied. "Yuzu, show Asagami to the clinic proper. I'll go put on proper doctor garments."
A voice echoed out, from inside the house. "You can just wear what you're wearing now!"
"But Karin!" The doctor replied, his voice suddenly becoming childlike, as if complaining to a stern mother. "What's the point of being a doctor if I don't look the part?"
"Getting paid!"
"Ah, Masaki, our children are so mean..." Kurosaki said to himself.
Fujino blinked.
This must have been what Arisawa meant when she said that the doctor at the Kurosaki clinic was eccentric. She couldn't say she expected anything like this, if she was honest.
Turning towards where Fujino had last heard the daughter talk from, she gestured to the man.
"Is he... Always like this?"
"He tones it down when there's patients here." She replied, slightly to the left of where Fujino's eyes were pointed.
Oh.
Perhaps now was a good time to focus on what Fujino was here for.
"I'll follow you now." She nodded, making sure to twist her head to look at the girl. "Please, lead the way."
"Okay." The girl replied.
There was some footsteps, and Fujino noted two sets moving. One of them was probably Doctor Kurosaki, so she waited a second, for him to move out of the way.
It didn't take long after that for Fujino to follow Kurosaki Yuzu to whichever room was the right one, and Doctor Kurosaki was there a few moments later.
"Alright, Miss Asagami." He said, as Fujino heard some papers moving. "It says here that I should just send the bill to your family later?"
"Would you prefer cash?" Fujino asked. "I could get some quickly if you would like it."
"It's fine, it's fine." Kurosaki replied. "It's just a routine check-up, the payment isn't big enough to be worth making a big deal over how I'm getting it. Karin, hold this for me for a second."
"Alright." Said the girl that Fujino had first run into outside. "Uh... Asagami? Sorry about earlier. I didn't know you were... Well, sorry."
"It's alright." Fujino answered. "It's like you said, you didn't know."
"Alright, then." Doctor Kurosaki noted. "Asagami, do you have anything noteworthy to add? Any unexplained sensations or pain?"
The answer to that was obvious, though not for the reason anyone else would have thought. "No."
"Any explained pain?" He continued. "Any cuts or bruises? Anything that might be worse than you thought?"
"I don't think so." Fujino continued.
It wasn't an overly committal answer, which was the best she could really do. If there was an issue, it would raise questions as to why she hadn't noticed. By saying it like this, then maybe if there was an issue, she could just say she didn't think it was too important.
It was hardly like she could just confess to being unable to feel pain.
"I see..." Doctor Kurosaki noted.
Some kind of mechanical device started beeping around him, and the doctor made a startled sound at it.
"What is it?" Asagami asked. "Is there a problem?"
"No, it's nothing." Kurosaki replied. "Well, nothing to do with you. Hold on a second, I need to make a call real fast to check something. Stay here, I'll be right back."
A door opened a second later, and the doctor left the room.
"...Jeez, that guy." Sighed the girl who had been referred to as Karin earlier. "Leaving in the middle of a check up, what could be that important?"
"It's okay." Fujino stated, from her seat. "This is just a minor thing. If something is happening, it's probably more important than this."
"You don't need to make excuses for him." Grumbled the girl. "Jeez, everyone's been acting weird recently. First Ichigo starts getting all quiet around about when school ended, now this..."
"There has been a lot of weird things going on recently, actually." The other girl, Yuzu, noted. "Like the truck. Ichigo'd been acting weird for a while before now, anyway."
Weird things were going on here, too?
How strange. It was looking more people were noticing strange things around them all the time, more often. There had also been the oddities surrounding Misaya, too. And the oddity regarding that monster which had attacked Arisawa. Perhaps everything was related, to some degree?
Or maybe Fujino was jumping to conclusions. She really needed to know more, before concluding anything.
[X] Ask about the weird things that had been going on. Maybe there would be a common link.
[X] Ask if either of the two girls had seen Misaya. That was the important thing, more than anything.
Update 5
Mortifer
Embrace your inner lunatic. Fun times guaranteed.
- Location
- Under a rock.
[X] Ask if either of the two girls had seen Misaya. That was the important thing, more than anything.
It wasn't any of Fujino's business if there had been some strange events going on recently. Though with that logic, Misaya going missing wasn't honestly her business either, but as far as Fujino knew, the oddities that had apparently occurred recently wasn't anything as bad as several people Misaya knew dying within a short timespan.
She was only here to look for Misaya to make sure she was okay. It wouldn't exactly be polite to just investigate everything that people found weird.
And with that in mind, with the medical examination still on pause, Fujino decided to ask a few question.
"Excuse me?" Fujino asked the two girls. "Pardon me for changing the subject, but a classmate of mine went missing recently, and there's a rumour going around that someone saw her going to Karakura Town. I don't suppose either of you two would have seen anyone from out of town recently?"
The two girls took a moment to reply. Fujino didn't bother trying to guess why, this time. It was probably the sudden topic change anyway, and if it was relevant to her, it'd come up when they did respond.
"I did pass by the train station a few days ago." Yuzu answered, after a moment. "I... Might have seen them? There was people leaving as I passed by. What did your friend look like?"
...Friend wasn't exactly accurate, but that was a conversation that didn't need to be had.
"Her names Ouji Misaya." Fujino explained. The rumour was that she was still wearing her uniform. A blue dress, white around the collar and cuffs, does down to the ankles? Her hair was like mine, but a lighter shade. Does that sound familiar?"
There was silence for some time after that.
This, in itself, was not unusual. Fujino had noticed it more since she was forced to rely on her hearing. The lack of visual cues meant that these pauses were more noticeable. Baring the usual sounds of breathing, footsteps, and any other background noise, there was usually moments in conversations where people took a moment to respond.
But that didn't mean it wasn't unnoticeable when a moment of silence dragged on for longer than a moment.
"Is there a problem, Yuzu?" The other girl, Karin, asked after a moment.
"...I did pass by the train station the other day, didn't I?" Yuzu replied, creeping confusion in her voice. "I thought I did, but now I can't remember anything about it."
"What do you mean, you can't remember?" Karin asked. "You definitely passed by. Even if you don't remember anyone you saw around there, you should at least remember that you went by, right?"
"I guess I just wasn't paying attention." Yuzu decided, after a moment. "Sorry, Asagami. Looks like I can't be of any help."
"That's fine." Fujino replied. She wasn't expecting much, regardless. She needed to ask to make sure, but she would have been surprised if it had been that easy to find a lead to Misaya's whereabouts.
Maybe she should return to the train station, Fujino mused, and ask around there. Someone around there might be able to help her.
"Can't remember anything?" Karin asked. "That's... Huh."
She went quiet after that, as if thinking about something, and the three of them waited in silence for a bit longer. Before anyone could offer a topic of conversation to interrupt the silence, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the building.
"Sorry about that." Came the voice of Doctor Kurosaki, after a moment. "I hope my daughters took care of you while I was gone, Asagami."
"It's not like we needed to do anything." Karin pointed out.
"Aw, you didn't complete the examination for me?" He asked, sounding almost hurt. "You've been watching me for so long, I would have thought-"
"Even if I was qualified, I wouldn't do your job for you." Karin grumbled back.
"So mean..." Doctor Kurosaki replied, sounding like a kicked puppy. "Well, if I still have to do work, then let's get to it."
And with that, Fujino had sorted out her cover. If she found Misaya, she'd be able to head right back without worrying about it, and the fact that she had sorted it out now meant that she could put all of her effort into finding the missing girl.
Hopefully, this part wouldn't take too long either. Between what had been happening at Reien and the strange monster she had encountered here in Karakura, Fujino was worried for Misaya.
That was the thought that the girl kept in mind, as she returned to the train station.
It was... Bothersome, walking through the crowd. People gave her space, at least, but as she walked around the station, Fujino found herself appreciating how open Reien was, most of the time. People bumped into her more than once here, and while they apologised immediately, it was somewhat startling.
Still, as the blind girl made her way through the station, she found an employee soon enough.
"Do you need anything, miss?" They said. Their voice was even, if somewhat stressed. If she had to guess, Fujino would have to guess that it was a male speaker, but it was difficult to tell.
"I was wondering if you had seen someone pass through in the last few days." Fujino replied. "A girl in a school uniform? Hair like mine, but a shade lighter? Her name's Ouji Misaya-"
"I don't recall seeing anyone like that." The employee replied. "How long ago would she have passed by?"
"Two days ago, I believe." Fujino replied. "Some time in the evening."
"I was on shift then." They continued. "And I didn't see her."
"Are you certain?" Fujino asked. "In that case, do you know who might-"
"If I didn't see her, I doubt anyone else did." The employee interrupted.
"I don't mean to offend." Fujino continued. "But it is possible you just didn't notice, if she didn't draw attention to herself. You may have-"
"Miss." The employee growled. "You're wasting my time. Get out of here."
Ah. Had she been too forward, there?
"My apologies." Fujino bowed. "I'll leave you to your work."
Well, that was of no help. A pity. Hopefully, Fujino could find another employee that would be able to lend her a hand in this matter. If the one here had been able to give her directions, that would be easier, but now she would have to find another while-
A chill went down Fujino's spine suddenly.
What was this sudden sense of foreboding?
In her life, Asagami Fujino had only been witness to a handful of supernatural phenomenon. She could see kilometres away from herself, and twist anything she saw to destruction. And with that in mind, when a sudden unexplained instinct awoke in her heart to beware, the fact that she followed it without question was to be expected.
Her mind's eye opened, and Fujino observed the train station from above.
Behind her, the employee- Definitely male- Seemed lost in thought. Around her, people were moving on, parting to give her space.
Flitting around the air around their heads was a small yellow being, it's form shifting as it flew in curves through the air. It left golden glitter in it's whimsical path, from the wings that twitched rapidly. Looking at it, the word "Fairy" came to mind relatively quickly. It looked almost like something out of a fairy tale.
It parted through the crowd and reached the employee, and slipped around behind his neck. The man stumbled, suddenly, and with her all-seeing mind's eye, Fujino saw as the man's own eyes lost focus for a second. Then, they stood, and looked around, as if confused.
That didn't bode well, Fujino noted. Was the creature the same sort of being as the one that had attacked the Arisawa girl yesterday? People were not reacting to it, so they clearly could not see it, and even if it didn't appear to have done much, it did give Fujino a bad feeling with how it had disappeared behind the man's back.
The creature emerged from behind it's victims head, and sprung upwards, making a beeline for Fujino.
Ah. So it was coming for her, now. Well, that settled it. Fujino was not willing to allow some magical creature come at her while she could not see it, and she did not wish to keep her clairvoyance active for much longer. Perhaps it was the difference in mindset pushing her to this conclusion, but...
Fujino let out a short breath, and began to mutter quietly enough that nobody else could hear her. Her sight focused on the fairy-like creature, and her power came to her.
Repeat the phrase enough, and it became a curse.
"Be-"
All of a sudden, a hand shot out to the side, striking at the yellow creature flitting through the air. It fell from the sky, and splattered against the ground, as if made from glass.
Her curse cut short, Fujino let her focus fade, to look at who had struck the creature.
Standing a few steps behind Fujino, looking confused at her own hand, as Arisawa Tatsuki. She seemed distracted as she looked around, as if still looking for something in the air around her.
Had she seen the being fluttering in the air? She had not seen the monster yesterday, and she seemed rather confused that she had hit anything when she had struck out, but she definitely acted against it.
Perhaps Fujino should talk to her, rather than simply standing and guessing.
Taking a moment to survey the area with her sight, ensuring that there was no more of the creature, Fujino shut her mind's eye and let the world fade to a numb darkness once again.
"Arisawa." Fujino noted, as she turned around. "How are you?"
"Hey, Asagami." The girl replied. "Did you sense anything around here? I thought I saw some kind of blur, but-"
"You got it." Fujino noted. "Perhaps we should speak away from the crowd, however..."
As it was, they probably had not said anything to give them away. Nobody would be listening in on them intentionally, and out of context, perhaps they could have been talking about a fast-moving insect. People would invent their own excuses for anything strange they heard. But as it was, talking about what had occurred risked someone putting something together, and Fujino had no intention of allowing anyone else to discover what kind of person she was.
"What are you doing around here, Arisawa?" Fujino asked, out of curiosity. "Are you taking a train?"
There was a moment of silence, after that.
"Well..." Arisawa began. "To be honest, I'm probably here for the same reason as you. I remembered you saying something about you looking for someone, and I didn't have anything better to do, so I thought I'd ask around."
Oh?
"That's very kind of you, Arisawa." Fujino noted. "I was having difficulties finding any leads for finding Ouji. Did you find anything?"
"Not really." Arisawa admitted. "Here, do you want to talk outside?"
"I'll lead the way." Fujino noted. "It'll be easier. People make space for the girl with a walking stick."
"I see..." Arisawa noted. Fujino took a moment to remember where the exit was, tapped the ground with her cane, and began walking.
It was a silent walk on the path out, but before long, the two of them were outside again, away from the crowd.
"So what was that?" Arisawa asked suddenly. "Was there actually something in the air I hit? I thought I was imagining things."
"You did strike against something." Fujino replied. "Some kind of... fairy-like creature, I think. It-"
Fujino stopped speaking suddenly, as a thought occurred to her.
Wasn't there some kind of rumour in Reien Academy, not long ago? Fujino didn't pay rumours much mind, but she could have sworn she had heard mention of fairies from her classmates. Perhaps there was truth to those rumours after all?
"What is it?" Arisawa asked, suddenly concerned.
"Nothing immediate." Fujino assured her. "I was merely remembering something. Whatever that thing was might have had some kind of connection to Misaya."
"Is that so?" The other girl asked. "Well, looks like I just involved myself in something weird... Did you find anything out in the train station?"
"Unfortunately not." Fujino replied. "The only employee I asked didn't recall seeing Misaya. The fairy thing did go after him, though. I noticed them stumble when it found their neck, and then he appeared confused as it came for me"
Arisawa let out a sigh. "Definitely something strange going on. Though, why does this feel..."
She trailed off suddenly, and a moment passed, before Fujino spoke. "Is there something wrong, Arisawa?"
"I'm not sure..." She replied. "I thought I saw something there, but I'm not sure. Might be something around here, or might not."
...Well, that didn't sound too good. Perhaps it was nothing, but Fujino had already encountered two supernatural beings in two days in this town, and given that it was starting to look like there was some kind of connection to Misaya...
Taking a breath, Fujino prepared to open her mind's eye once again-
[X] -And expanded her sight once again, to see what may lurk out of sight, invisible or otherwise.
[X] -But was interrupted by a meek voice, and the sound of someone stepping into view.
It wasn't any of Fujino's business if there had been some strange events going on recently. Though with that logic, Misaya going missing wasn't honestly her business either, but as far as Fujino knew, the oddities that had apparently occurred recently wasn't anything as bad as several people Misaya knew dying within a short timespan.
She was only here to look for Misaya to make sure she was okay. It wouldn't exactly be polite to just investigate everything that people found weird.
And with that in mind, with the medical examination still on pause, Fujino decided to ask a few question.
"Excuse me?" Fujino asked the two girls. "Pardon me for changing the subject, but a classmate of mine went missing recently, and there's a rumour going around that someone saw her going to Karakura Town. I don't suppose either of you two would have seen anyone from out of town recently?"
The two girls took a moment to reply. Fujino didn't bother trying to guess why, this time. It was probably the sudden topic change anyway, and if it was relevant to her, it'd come up when they did respond.
"I did pass by the train station a few days ago." Yuzu answered, after a moment. "I... Might have seen them? There was people leaving as I passed by. What did your friend look like?"
...Friend wasn't exactly accurate, but that was a conversation that didn't need to be had.
"Her names Ouji Misaya." Fujino explained. The rumour was that she was still wearing her uniform. A blue dress, white around the collar and cuffs, does down to the ankles? Her hair was like mine, but a lighter shade. Does that sound familiar?"
There was silence for some time after that.
This, in itself, was not unusual. Fujino had noticed it more since she was forced to rely on her hearing. The lack of visual cues meant that these pauses were more noticeable. Baring the usual sounds of breathing, footsteps, and any other background noise, there was usually moments in conversations where people took a moment to respond.
But that didn't mean it wasn't unnoticeable when a moment of silence dragged on for longer than a moment.
"Is there a problem, Yuzu?" The other girl, Karin, asked after a moment.
"...I did pass by the train station the other day, didn't I?" Yuzu replied, creeping confusion in her voice. "I thought I did, but now I can't remember anything about it."
"What do you mean, you can't remember?" Karin asked. "You definitely passed by. Even if you don't remember anyone you saw around there, you should at least remember that you went by, right?"
"I guess I just wasn't paying attention." Yuzu decided, after a moment. "Sorry, Asagami. Looks like I can't be of any help."
"That's fine." Fujino replied. She wasn't expecting much, regardless. She needed to ask to make sure, but she would have been surprised if it had been that easy to find a lead to Misaya's whereabouts.
Maybe she should return to the train station, Fujino mused, and ask around there. Someone around there might be able to help her.
"Can't remember anything?" Karin asked. "That's... Huh."
She went quiet after that, as if thinking about something, and the three of them waited in silence for a bit longer. Before anyone could offer a topic of conversation to interrupt the silence, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the building.
"Sorry about that." Came the voice of Doctor Kurosaki, after a moment. "I hope my daughters took care of you while I was gone, Asagami."
"It's not like we needed to do anything." Karin pointed out.
"Aw, you didn't complete the examination for me?" He asked, sounding almost hurt. "You've been watching me for so long, I would have thought-"
"Even if I was qualified, I wouldn't do your job for you." Karin grumbled back.
"So mean..." Doctor Kurosaki replied, sounding like a kicked puppy. "Well, if I still have to do work, then let's get to it."
~~~~~
Even if she didn't have any reason to suspect something was wrong, Asagami was still somewhat relieved when the check-up reached the conclusion, and Doctor Kurosaki informed her was fine.And with that, Fujino had sorted out her cover. If she found Misaya, she'd be able to head right back without worrying about it, and the fact that she had sorted it out now meant that she could put all of her effort into finding the missing girl.
Hopefully, this part wouldn't take too long either. Between what had been happening at Reien and the strange monster she had encountered here in Karakura, Fujino was worried for Misaya.
That was the thought that the girl kept in mind, as she returned to the train station.
It was... Bothersome, walking through the crowd. People gave her space, at least, but as she walked around the station, Fujino found herself appreciating how open Reien was, most of the time. People bumped into her more than once here, and while they apologised immediately, it was somewhat startling.
Still, as the blind girl made her way through the station, she found an employee soon enough.
"Do you need anything, miss?" They said. Their voice was even, if somewhat stressed. If she had to guess, Fujino would have to guess that it was a male speaker, but it was difficult to tell.
"I was wondering if you had seen someone pass through in the last few days." Fujino replied. "A girl in a school uniform? Hair like mine, but a shade lighter? Her name's Ouji Misaya-"
"I don't recall seeing anyone like that." The employee replied. "How long ago would she have passed by?"
"Two days ago, I believe." Fujino replied. "Some time in the evening."
"I was on shift then." They continued. "And I didn't see her."
"Are you certain?" Fujino asked. "In that case, do you know who might-"
"If I didn't see her, I doubt anyone else did." The employee interrupted.
"I don't mean to offend." Fujino continued. "But it is possible you just didn't notice, if she didn't draw attention to herself. You may have-"
"Miss." The employee growled. "You're wasting my time. Get out of here."
Ah. Had she been too forward, there?
"My apologies." Fujino bowed. "I'll leave you to your work."
Well, that was of no help. A pity. Hopefully, Fujino could find another employee that would be able to lend her a hand in this matter. If the one here had been able to give her directions, that would be easier, but now she would have to find another while-
A chill went down Fujino's spine suddenly.
What was this sudden sense of foreboding?
In her life, Asagami Fujino had only been witness to a handful of supernatural phenomenon. She could see kilometres away from herself, and twist anything she saw to destruction. And with that in mind, when a sudden unexplained instinct awoke in her heart to beware, the fact that she followed it without question was to be expected.
Her mind's eye opened, and Fujino observed the train station from above.
Behind her, the employee- Definitely male- Seemed lost in thought. Around her, people were moving on, parting to give her space.
Flitting around the air around their heads was a small yellow being, it's form shifting as it flew in curves through the air. It left golden glitter in it's whimsical path, from the wings that twitched rapidly. Looking at it, the word "Fairy" came to mind relatively quickly. It looked almost like something out of a fairy tale.
It parted through the crowd and reached the employee, and slipped around behind his neck. The man stumbled, suddenly, and with her all-seeing mind's eye, Fujino saw as the man's own eyes lost focus for a second. Then, they stood, and looked around, as if confused.
That didn't bode well, Fujino noted. Was the creature the same sort of being as the one that had attacked the Arisawa girl yesterday? People were not reacting to it, so they clearly could not see it, and even if it didn't appear to have done much, it did give Fujino a bad feeling with how it had disappeared behind the man's back.
The creature emerged from behind it's victims head, and sprung upwards, making a beeline for Fujino.
Ah. So it was coming for her, now. Well, that settled it. Fujino was not willing to allow some magical creature come at her while she could not see it, and she did not wish to keep her clairvoyance active for much longer. Perhaps it was the difference in mindset pushing her to this conclusion, but...
Fujino let out a short breath, and began to mutter quietly enough that nobody else could hear her. Her sight focused on the fairy-like creature, and her power came to her.
Repeat the phrase enough, and it became a curse.
"Be-"
All of a sudden, a hand shot out to the side, striking at the yellow creature flitting through the air. It fell from the sky, and splattered against the ground, as if made from glass.
Her curse cut short, Fujino let her focus fade, to look at who had struck the creature.
Standing a few steps behind Fujino, looking confused at her own hand, as Arisawa Tatsuki. She seemed distracted as she looked around, as if still looking for something in the air around her.
Had she seen the being fluttering in the air? She had not seen the monster yesterday, and she seemed rather confused that she had hit anything when she had struck out, but she definitely acted against it.
Perhaps Fujino should talk to her, rather than simply standing and guessing.
Taking a moment to survey the area with her sight, ensuring that there was no more of the creature, Fujino shut her mind's eye and let the world fade to a numb darkness once again.
"Arisawa." Fujino noted, as she turned around. "How are you?"
"Hey, Asagami." The girl replied. "Did you sense anything around here? I thought I saw some kind of blur, but-"
"You got it." Fujino noted. "Perhaps we should speak away from the crowd, however..."
As it was, they probably had not said anything to give them away. Nobody would be listening in on them intentionally, and out of context, perhaps they could have been talking about a fast-moving insect. People would invent their own excuses for anything strange they heard. But as it was, talking about what had occurred risked someone putting something together, and Fujino had no intention of allowing anyone else to discover what kind of person she was.
"What are you doing around here, Arisawa?" Fujino asked, out of curiosity. "Are you taking a train?"
There was a moment of silence, after that.
"Well..." Arisawa began. "To be honest, I'm probably here for the same reason as you. I remembered you saying something about you looking for someone, and I didn't have anything better to do, so I thought I'd ask around."
Oh?
"That's very kind of you, Arisawa." Fujino noted. "I was having difficulties finding any leads for finding Ouji. Did you find anything?"
"Not really." Arisawa admitted. "Here, do you want to talk outside?"
"I'll lead the way." Fujino noted. "It'll be easier. People make space for the girl with a walking stick."
"I see..." Arisawa noted. Fujino took a moment to remember where the exit was, tapped the ground with her cane, and began walking.
It was a silent walk on the path out, but before long, the two of them were outside again, away from the crowd.
"So what was that?" Arisawa asked suddenly. "Was there actually something in the air I hit? I thought I was imagining things."
"You did strike against something." Fujino replied. "Some kind of... fairy-like creature, I think. It-"
Fujino stopped speaking suddenly, as a thought occurred to her.
Wasn't there some kind of rumour in Reien Academy, not long ago? Fujino didn't pay rumours much mind, but she could have sworn she had heard mention of fairies from her classmates. Perhaps there was truth to those rumours after all?
"What is it?" Arisawa asked, suddenly concerned.
"Nothing immediate." Fujino assured her. "I was merely remembering something. Whatever that thing was might have had some kind of connection to Misaya."
"Is that so?" The other girl asked. "Well, looks like I just involved myself in something weird... Did you find anything out in the train station?"
"Unfortunately not." Fujino replied. "The only employee I asked didn't recall seeing Misaya. The fairy thing did go after him, though. I noticed them stumble when it found their neck, and then he appeared confused as it came for me"
Arisawa let out a sigh. "Definitely something strange going on. Though, why does this feel..."
She trailed off suddenly, and a moment passed, before Fujino spoke. "Is there something wrong, Arisawa?"
"I'm not sure..." She replied. "I thought I saw something there, but I'm not sure. Might be something around here, or might not."
...Well, that didn't sound too good. Perhaps it was nothing, but Fujino had already encountered two supernatural beings in two days in this town, and given that it was starting to look like there was some kind of connection to Misaya...
Taking a breath, Fujino prepared to open her mind's eye once again-
[X] -And expanded her sight once again, to see what may lurk out of sight, invisible or otherwise.
[X] -But was interrupted by a meek voice, and the sound of someone stepping into view.
Update 6
Mortifer
Embrace your inner lunatic. Fun times guaranteed.
- Location
- Under a rock.
[X] -But was interrupted by a meek voice, and the sound of someone stepping into view.
"Hello." The words were spoken softly, enough that it took some effort to listen to the speaker. "Are you Asagami Fujino?"
Fujino didn't know who that voice belonged to, and they apparently knew who she was. That could be harmless, but given the context, there was the chance of something strange happening here.
"I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage." Asagami replied. "Who are you?"
"Tsumugiya Ururu." The speaker continued. Asagami was putting together what she could from the sound of the voice. Female, sounded young. "Can I talk to you in private?"
That was not something that Fujino was going to do. Arisawa had seen something strange, and as far as Fujino knew, the girl was related somehow. And the last time she had been alone with another supernatural person had not been a pleasant memory for Fujino, to say the least.
"Arisawa, do you know who this is?" Fujino asked.
The other girl took a moment to reply. "I dunno. Little girl. Has a logo for some shop on her shirt. Hands behind her back for some reason."
"No reason." The meek voice interjected.
And that was rather suspicious as well, wasn't it? Especially for someone who had emerged right as Arisawa had possibly seen something, right after her possibly seeing something had her very much noticing one of the fairy creatures.
But on the other hand, if this girl was somehow related, would she really say something that blatantly suspicious?
"Why do you want to speak to me alone?" Fujino tried. "Is there a reason you don't want Arisawa to be around for the conversation?"
"It's a secret." Tsumugiya replied. "One that she shouldn't hear."
Oh.
What secrets was she talking about? Fujino could think of a few that she had, but if a stranger knew anything about her ESP or her murders, then Fujino would have a lot of things to worry about. And if those weren't what she was talking about, then Asagami mentioning her ESP would create a few problems as well. Arisawa was already one person too many.
"That doesn't answer my question." Asagami stated, after a moment. "I don't particularly mind if Arisawa knows, if that makes things simpler."
There was a moment of silence, before the girl responded again.
"Okay." She decided, after a moment. "There is someone who wants to talk to you about your ESPer powers."
That had worked out well, then. It was a secret which Arisawa already knew, and not a secret where Asagami's opinion was irrelevant. That still did leave one of the more worrisome questions, though.
"How did you know about that?" Fujino asked. "I don't exactly advertise it."
"The person who wants to talk to you told me." Tsumugiya replied. "I don't know how he found out."
That was concerning, Fujino had to admit. There was a few possibilities that Fujino could think of, and none of them were ones she was comfortable with. Somehow, the least worrisome possibility was that this was a complete stranger. Otherwise, the other two options where the man who knew that Asagami Fujino was a murderer, and the mysterious man who had introduced himself as a Magus.
If Minato Keita was seeking her out, then Asagami Fujino was at a loss as to what to do about it. He knew too much about her, and after what he had done, Asagami wasn't too sure she'd be able to resist the temptation to simply kill him if it looked like he was spreading around any of her abnormalities. And the man who had introduced himself as Araya Souren was involved in the supernatural, enough to casually refer to himself as a Magus to someone he did not know while healing them. The idea of someone that deeply involved in the supernatural seeking her out was disturbing, to some degree.
"Oh, and if Arisawa is allowed to know." Tsumugiya spoke up. "This is what I'm holding."
Silence hung in the air, for a moment.
"Arisawa?" Asagami asked.
"I don't..." The girl trailed off for a moment. "Oh. It's one of those invisible fairy things, isn't it?"
"Yes." Tsumugiya answered. "I'm taking it to Urahara."
"I presume he's the one who wants to speak with me?" Fujino guessed.
"Yes."
Well, that answered that, then. It was a complete stranger with the ability to identify ESPers and have some interest in the supernatural. At the very least, the fairy thing had to be taken to him, so it was unlikely he had anything to do with them already.
"Do you know what he wants to talk to me about?" Fujino asked.
"No."
"Wait, Urahara? Isn't that the name of the old candy store?" Arisawa asked, suddenly.
"Yes." The girl replied. "Are you coming as well?"
"I don't see any reason why not." Arisawa replied. "Asagami and I were in the middle of something, and if you're doing something with that fairy thing, I'll want to know about it."
"Okay." The girl said. "Follow me."
There was the sound of footsteps, and Fujino took a moment to feel in front of her with her cane, before she followed the sound.
"Oi, keep it down." A boyish voice interrupts. "What if we had customers and you came in here talking about ESP And stuff?"
Fujino took a few steps into the building, and heard Arisawa enter behind her.
"And she's not alone." The boy's voice continued. "I'm pretty sure she was supposed to come alone-"
"She's with me." Asagami interrupted. "I insisted."
"Give her a break, Jinta." Another voice interrupted. "She's doing fine."
The boy grumbled.
"Speaking of which, Ururu, what've you got there?"
"Some form of familiar." The girl replied. "It was circling around the ESPer and came at me when it saw me."
"Well, go show it to Tessai." The man told her. "I'll take a look at it once I've dealt with our guests, but he can get started without me if he wants."
There was the sound of footsteps as Tsumugiya walked away, and a moment later, the man started talking again.
"Alright, then, Asagami." He continued. "And..."
"Arisawa Tatsuki." The other girl introduced herself. "I presume you're Urahara?"
"That's me." The man replied.
"How did you know I was an ESPer?" Asagami asked, suddenly. "Forgive me for being blunt, but I would rather prefer to keep that a secret."
"The supernatural calls to the supernatural." Urahara answered. "Honestly, I'm the least of your concerns here. Karakura Town is something of a hotspot when it comes to Hollows, so that'd be your biggest problem."
"Hollow?" Asked Arisawa. "Is that the small invisible thing, or the big invisible thing?"
"If the small one is the familiar Ururu caught, then no, that's not a Hollow." Urahara replied. "I'm not sure what it is, beyond it looking like some Magus made it. The bigger one was probably a Hollow. They've got a..."
He trailed off for a moment. "Well, I'm not sure what good describing a Hollow would be, for someone who can't see them and someone who's blind. They're ghosts, basically. Dead souls who couldn't move on and went mad from the emptiness of it, turned into monsters. That's a fairly short version, but that's the gist of it."
A moment passed, as the meaning dawned on Asagami.
The monster that she had seen, when she first arrived and encountered Arisawa, that was a Hollow, wasn't it? And if it was a ghost, then it had been a person.
So she'd murdered someone again, hadn't she?
She remembered it clearly, and she remembered the joy she'd felt as the monster died and faded away. She'd killed something that had been a person, and and had smiled as she did it.
No, there was more to it than that. It was a monster when she encountered it. It had attacked Arisawa. Fujino hadn't known it was human, but even if she had, would that have changed anything? She still would have killed it to save Arisawa. The act itself wasn't any more wrong, just that Fujino had enjoyed it, and she already knew that she was a murderer who enjoyed taking lives. This shouldn't change anything.
"I see..." Asagami continued, keeping her voice level. The brief moment of panic had passed. There was no reason to think that this made things any worse. That had been a kneejerk reaction, Fujino wasn't any worse a person for what had happened yesterday then she was the day before that.
It occurred to her that her grip on her cane had tightened reflexively while she was lost in though, and it took Asagami a moment to relax her fingers.
"The problem with Hollows is, they're soul eaters." Urahara continued. "They're all empty inside and try to fill themselves with souls, instinctively. And an ESPer? They're something of a beacon to those kinds of instincts. So that's why I called you here, Asagami. To give you a warning."
Fujino frowned. "I'm... A beacon, to Hollows?"
"Moreso when you actually use any ESP." Urahara replied. "But yeah. You probably could've gone the rest of your life without encountering a Hollow, but Karakura Town's the kind of place where a ghost can end up lingering easily, so we've got a bit of a problem with them."
"Is that why weird stuff's been happening for the last few months?" Arisawa asked. "Have there been a bunch of Hollows around recently?"
"I dunno." Urahara told her. "Do I look like I've got any reason to keep an eye on you? I'm letting Assagami know because the alternative is that a teenage girl wanders around with no clue that she's Hollow bait and I get yelled at for not helping. You're a normal person, so you don't have that problem."
Arisawa was silent for a moment after that, as if lost in thought.
"But anyway, Asagami." Urahara continued. "I dunno why you've come to Karakura Town, but I'd recommend leaving as soon as possible. Now, even. Hollows don't often wander out of Karakura Town, given what kind of place this town is, so it's probably in your best interest to get out."
"I'm afraid I can't do that." Asagami replied. "There's someone I'm looking for, here. I know she's in Karakura Town somewhere, or at least was recently. I can't go anywhere without finding her."
There was silence in the room, before Urahara replied.
"I'm not gonna ask questions." He noted. "But you should think, for yourself. Can your ESP keep you safe from monsters who can smash down buildings?"
"It can." Fujino replied. She'd already beaten one Hollow.
"Then go ahead." Urahara decided. "Don't feel bad about what happens to any of the Hollows, by the way. It's a mercy to kill them, more than anything. Don't feel bad just because they used to be alive, existing as a Hollow is a curse."
Oh. That made it a bit easier to kill them, then, if it's not a bad thing to do.
"Arisawa, though, I'd say that you should-"
"I'm not going to avoid Asagami just because she's monster bait." Tatsuki interrupted him. "I've lived in this place for years, and if there's been weird stuff going on in my life already because of these Hollows, I'm not going to just ignore them and pretend the don't exist."
"Are you sure about that?" Urahara asked. "You can't even see them, and you've got a broken arm. You really wanna be around when they come crawling around and start lunging at any easy meal?"
"Yes."
The silence hung in the air for a moment, and Fujino was almost worried about the tense atmosphere that had come across the place, suddenly.
"...Well, alright then." Urahara decided, eventually. "Your life, I suppose. If it makes you feel better, it'll get easier to see them the more you're around the supernatural. Semi-transparent stuff is good enough for punching them in the face, if you know how to fight."
"It's fine." Asagami interrupted. "I can watch her. She's only really in danger when around me, isn't she?"
"That's a fair point." Urahara admitted. "What about you, Arisawa? Wanna keep following Asagami and rely on her while you're useless?"
That did not sound like the wording of someone who had no stakes in the decision that Arisawa made.
"What's it to you?" Arisawa asked, an edge in her voice.
"I think I might be able to be of some use." He continued. "Again, people'll yell at me if I just let let a teenage girl stay around danger without at least helping out. So, why don't I take a look at that arm of yours?"
"What do you mean?" Arisawa asked.
"I'm something of a magician, y'know." Urahara explained. "Not a specialised healer, but I know enough to fix a broken arm that's been recovering a while. Nobody'll question it, either. I can make sure of that."
"...Really?" Arisawa asked. "That's... That'd help a bunch. It'd be nice to have it working properly again."
"I should warn you, though, it won't make too much of a difference." Urahara advised. "There's only so much a human can do against a Hollow. It'll help a bit if you need to fight one off long enough for the ESPer to do whatever she does."
"Alright, then." Arisawa noted. "Is this gonna take long?"
"Maybe a while." Urahara replied. "I'll want to have a good look at it, and take the time to make sure it heals up properly. Speaking of which, Asagami, I've got nothing else to talk to you about. If you wanna leave, feel free."
"I see." Fujino noted. "Thank you for the warning, then. And for the help you are providing for Arisawa."
Turning to leave, Fujino took a moment to think about what to do next.
[X] Well, there was nothing for it but to get back to looking for Misaya. Perhaps she should try checking around other hotels?
[X] On second thought, perhaps she should stay a while. Perhaps she'd be allowed to see if anyone found out anything about the fairy.
"Hello." The words were spoken softly, enough that it took some effort to listen to the speaker. "Are you Asagami Fujino?"
Fujino didn't know who that voice belonged to, and they apparently knew who she was. That could be harmless, but given the context, there was the chance of something strange happening here.
"I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage." Asagami replied. "Who are you?"
"Tsumugiya Ururu." The speaker continued. Asagami was putting together what she could from the sound of the voice. Female, sounded young. "Can I talk to you in private?"
That was not something that Fujino was going to do. Arisawa had seen something strange, and as far as Fujino knew, the girl was related somehow. And the last time she had been alone with another supernatural person had not been a pleasant memory for Fujino, to say the least.
"Arisawa, do you know who this is?" Fujino asked.
The other girl took a moment to reply. "I dunno. Little girl. Has a logo for some shop on her shirt. Hands behind her back for some reason."
"No reason." The meek voice interjected.
And that was rather suspicious as well, wasn't it? Especially for someone who had emerged right as Arisawa had possibly seen something, right after her possibly seeing something had her very much noticing one of the fairy creatures.
But on the other hand, if this girl was somehow related, would she really say something that blatantly suspicious?
"Why do you want to speak to me alone?" Fujino tried. "Is there a reason you don't want Arisawa to be around for the conversation?"
"It's a secret." Tsumugiya replied. "One that she shouldn't hear."
Oh.
What secrets was she talking about? Fujino could think of a few that she had, but if a stranger knew anything about her ESP or her murders, then Fujino would have a lot of things to worry about. And if those weren't what she was talking about, then Asagami mentioning her ESP would create a few problems as well. Arisawa was already one person too many.
"That doesn't answer my question." Asagami stated, after a moment. "I don't particularly mind if Arisawa knows, if that makes things simpler."
There was a moment of silence, before the girl responded again.
"Okay." She decided, after a moment. "There is someone who wants to talk to you about your ESPer powers."
That had worked out well, then. It was a secret which Arisawa already knew, and not a secret where Asagami's opinion was irrelevant. That still did leave one of the more worrisome questions, though.
"How did you know about that?" Fujino asked. "I don't exactly advertise it."
"The person who wants to talk to you told me." Tsumugiya replied. "I don't know how he found out."
That was concerning, Fujino had to admit. There was a few possibilities that Fujino could think of, and none of them were ones she was comfortable with. Somehow, the least worrisome possibility was that this was a complete stranger. Otherwise, the other two options where the man who knew that Asagami Fujino was a murderer, and the mysterious man who had introduced himself as a Magus.
If Minato Keita was seeking her out, then Asagami Fujino was at a loss as to what to do about it. He knew too much about her, and after what he had done, Asagami wasn't too sure she'd be able to resist the temptation to simply kill him if it looked like he was spreading around any of her abnormalities. And the man who had introduced himself as Araya Souren was involved in the supernatural, enough to casually refer to himself as a Magus to someone he did not know while healing them. The idea of someone that deeply involved in the supernatural seeking her out was disturbing, to some degree.
"Oh, and if Arisawa is allowed to know." Tsumugiya spoke up. "This is what I'm holding."
Silence hung in the air, for a moment.
"Arisawa?" Asagami asked.
"I don't..." The girl trailed off for a moment. "Oh. It's one of those invisible fairy things, isn't it?"
"Yes." Tsumugiya answered. "I'm taking it to Urahara."
"I presume he's the one who wants to speak with me?" Fujino guessed.
"Yes."
Well, that answered that, then. It was a complete stranger with the ability to identify ESPers and have some interest in the supernatural. At the very least, the fairy thing had to be taken to him, so it was unlikely he had anything to do with them already.
"Do you know what he wants to talk to me about?" Fujino asked.
"No."
"Wait, Urahara? Isn't that the name of the old candy store?" Arisawa asked, suddenly.
"Yes." The girl replied. "Are you coming as well?"
"I don't see any reason why not." Arisawa replied. "Asagami and I were in the middle of something, and if you're doing something with that fairy thing, I'll want to know about it."
"Okay." The girl said. "Follow me."
There was the sound of footsteps, and Fujino took a moment to feel in front of her with her cane, before she followed the sound.
~~~~~
"I'm back." Tsumugiya spoke up as she opened a door. Fujino took a moment to swing around with her cane, feeling where the edges of the doorway where, before she stepped in. "I found the ESPer.""Oi, keep it down." A boyish voice interrupts. "What if we had customers and you came in here talking about ESP And stuff?"
Fujino took a few steps into the building, and heard Arisawa enter behind her.
"And she's not alone." The boy's voice continued. "I'm pretty sure she was supposed to come alone-"
"She's with me." Asagami interrupted. "I insisted."
"Give her a break, Jinta." Another voice interrupted. "She's doing fine."
The boy grumbled.
"Speaking of which, Ururu, what've you got there?"
"Some form of familiar." The girl replied. "It was circling around the ESPer and came at me when it saw me."
"Well, go show it to Tessai." The man told her. "I'll take a look at it once I've dealt with our guests, but he can get started without me if he wants."
There was the sound of footsteps as Tsumugiya walked away, and a moment later, the man started talking again.
"Alright, then, Asagami." He continued. "And..."
"Arisawa Tatsuki." The other girl introduced herself. "I presume you're Urahara?"
"That's me." The man replied.
"How did you know I was an ESPer?" Asagami asked, suddenly. "Forgive me for being blunt, but I would rather prefer to keep that a secret."
"The supernatural calls to the supernatural." Urahara answered. "Honestly, I'm the least of your concerns here. Karakura Town is something of a hotspot when it comes to Hollows, so that'd be your biggest problem."
"Hollow?" Asked Arisawa. "Is that the small invisible thing, or the big invisible thing?"
"If the small one is the familiar Ururu caught, then no, that's not a Hollow." Urahara replied. "I'm not sure what it is, beyond it looking like some Magus made it. The bigger one was probably a Hollow. They've got a..."
He trailed off for a moment. "Well, I'm not sure what good describing a Hollow would be, for someone who can't see them and someone who's blind. They're ghosts, basically. Dead souls who couldn't move on and went mad from the emptiness of it, turned into monsters. That's a fairly short version, but that's the gist of it."
A moment passed, as the meaning dawned on Asagami.
The monster that she had seen, when she first arrived and encountered Arisawa, that was a Hollow, wasn't it? And if it was a ghost, then it had been a person.
So she'd murdered someone again, hadn't she?
She remembered it clearly, and she remembered the joy she'd felt as the monster died and faded away. She'd killed something that had been a person, and and had smiled as she did it.
No, there was more to it than that. It was a monster when she encountered it. It had attacked Arisawa. Fujino hadn't known it was human, but even if she had, would that have changed anything? She still would have killed it to save Arisawa. The act itself wasn't any more wrong, just that Fujino had enjoyed it, and she already knew that she was a murderer who enjoyed taking lives. This shouldn't change anything.
"I see..." Asagami continued, keeping her voice level. The brief moment of panic had passed. There was no reason to think that this made things any worse. That had been a kneejerk reaction, Fujino wasn't any worse a person for what had happened yesterday then she was the day before that.
It occurred to her that her grip on her cane had tightened reflexively while she was lost in though, and it took Asagami a moment to relax her fingers.
"The problem with Hollows is, they're soul eaters." Urahara continued. "They're all empty inside and try to fill themselves with souls, instinctively. And an ESPer? They're something of a beacon to those kinds of instincts. So that's why I called you here, Asagami. To give you a warning."
Fujino frowned. "I'm... A beacon, to Hollows?"
"Moreso when you actually use any ESP." Urahara replied. "But yeah. You probably could've gone the rest of your life without encountering a Hollow, but Karakura Town's the kind of place where a ghost can end up lingering easily, so we've got a bit of a problem with them."
"Is that why weird stuff's been happening for the last few months?" Arisawa asked. "Have there been a bunch of Hollows around recently?"
"I dunno." Urahara told her. "Do I look like I've got any reason to keep an eye on you? I'm letting Assagami know because the alternative is that a teenage girl wanders around with no clue that she's Hollow bait and I get yelled at for not helping. You're a normal person, so you don't have that problem."
Arisawa was silent for a moment after that, as if lost in thought.
"But anyway, Asagami." Urahara continued. "I dunno why you've come to Karakura Town, but I'd recommend leaving as soon as possible. Now, even. Hollows don't often wander out of Karakura Town, given what kind of place this town is, so it's probably in your best interest to get out."
"I'm afraid I can't do that." Asagami replied. "There's someone I'm looking for, here. I know she's in Karakura Town somewhere, or at least was recently. I can't go anywhere without finding her."
There was silence in the room, before Urahara replied.
"I'm not gonna ask questions." He noted. "But you should think, for yourself. Can your ESP keep you safe from monsters who can smash down buildings?"
"It can." Fujino replied. She'd already beaten one Hollow.
"Then go ahead." Urahara decided. "Don't feel bad about what happens to any of the Hollows, by the way. It's a mercy to kill them, more than anything. Don't feel bad just because they used to be alive, existing as a Hollow is a curse."
Oh. That made it a bit easier to kill them, then, if it's not a bad thing to do.
"Arisawa, though, I'd say that you should-"
"I'm not going to avoid Asagami just because she's monster bait." Tatsuki interrupted him. "I've lived in this place for years, and if there's been weird stuff going on in my life already because of these Hollows, I'm not going to just ignore them and pretend the don't exist."
"Are you sure about that?" Urahara asked. "You can't even see them, and you've got a broken arm. You really wanna be around when they come crawling around and start lunging at any easy meal?"
"Yes."
The silence hung in the air for a moment, and Fujino was almost worried about the tense atmosphere that had come across the place, suddenly.
"...Well, alright then." Urahara decided, eventually. "Your life, I suppose. If it makes you feel better, it'll get easier to see them the more you're around the supernatural. Semi-transparent stuff is good enough for punching them in the face, if you know how to fight."
"It's fine." Asagami interrupted. "I can watch her. She's only really in danger when around me, isn't she?"
"That's a fair point." Urahara admitted. "What about you, Arisawa? Wanna keep following Asagami and rely on her while you're useless?"
That did not sound like the wording of someone who had no stakes in the decision that Arisawa made.
"What's it to you?" Arisawa asked, an edge in her voice.
"I think I might be able to be of some use." He continued. "Again, people'll yell at me if I just let let a teenage girl stay around danger without at least helping out. So, why don't I take a look at that arm of yours?"
"What do you mean?" Arisawa asked.
"I'm something of a magician, y'know." Urahara explained. "Not a specialised healer, but I know enough to fix a broken arm that's been recovering a while. Nobody'll question it, either. I can make sure of that."
"...Really?" Arisawa asked. "That's... That'd help a bunch. It'd be nice to have it working properly again."
"I should warn you, though, it won't make too much of a difference." Urahara advised. "There's only so much a human can do against a Hollow. It'll help a bit if you need to fight one off long enough for the ESPer to do whatever she does."
"Alright, then." Arisawa noted. "Is this gonna take long?"
"Maybe a while." Urahara replied. "I'll want to have a good look at it, and take the time to make sure it heals up properly. Speaking of which, Asagami, I've got nothing else to talk to you about. If you wanna leave, feel free."
"I see." Fujino noted. "Thank you for the warning, then. And for the help you are providing for Arisawa."
Turning to leave, Fujino took a moment to think about what to do next.
[X] Well, there was nothing for it but to get back to looking for Misaya. Perhaps she should try checking around other hotels?
[X] On second thought, perhaps she should stay a while. Perhaps she'd be allowed to see if anyone found out anything about the fairy.
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Update 7
Mortifer
Embrace your inner lunatic. Fun times guaranteed.
- Location
- Under a rock.
[X] On second thought, perhaps she should stay a while. Perhaps she'd be allowed to see if anyone found out anything about the fairy.
"Urahara?" Fujino asked, turning away from the door again to the general direction she had heard the man speaking in. "You said that someone was having a look at the fairy creature that the girl had stumbled across, didn't you?"
"I told her to pass it on to Tessai, yes." Urahara confirmed. "Curious?"
"I would like to know more about it, yes." Fujino admitted. "Mysteries are rather annoying, I find, and I'd rather know what it is than let it be a surprise later."
"Alright, then." Urahara replied. "I'll let Tessai know you're curious, and tell him to send Ururu to get you soon."
"Thank you." Fujino bowed, slightly. "I will remain here in the meantime."
"Feel free to browse the merchandise." Urahara suggested, in an offhand tone. Fujino took a moment to realise what he had said, but before she could remind him of her blindness, he had started talking again. "Arisawa, follow me."
There was footsteps, and a door opened. More footsteps, a door closed. Someone muttered something on the other side of the door that Fujino didn't catch.
"In case it wasn't obvious." A boyish voice from nearby spoke up suddenly. "He wasn't being serious. He doesn't forget things, he just thinks he's funnier than he is."
Oh?
"I see." Fujino noted. "Urahara called you Jinta, didn't he? Is that what everyone calls you, or would you prefer a stranger use something more formal?"
"I don't care." He brushed off. "Call me Hanakari if it bothers you to be informal, but it's just a name."
"Understood." Fujino noted. Being formal would be more comfortable for her, with a stranger, so given the choice... "While I'm here, what merchandise does Urahara sell, Hanakari?"
"Here? Candy." The boy replied. There was the sound of a broom hitting the floor, and some footsteps. "Break time. But anyway, the supernatural stock's in the back, but there's probably not anything there for you. 'Less your ESP lets you leave the flesh and walk around as a spiritual body or something."
"Can ESP do that?" Fujino asked. She had only ever encountered ESP that had something to do with sight, be it her clairvoyance, her bending, or Shiki's...
Well, the terrifying power to kill anything, according to Shiki, had been based on her eyes seeing the flaws in existence. That fit the pattern.
"I dunno." Hanakari replied. "You're the only one I've met. Wouldn't be surprised, though. I've heard it can be done by some people and I've given up trying to figure out what kind of supernatural person can do what kind of supernatural thing. It'll give you a headache if you try to pay attention."
That was a rather simple way of looking at things, Fujino thought. But at the end of the day, it wasn't too different from her own stance of things, was it? She never went out of her way to figure out how her powers worked, or how other ESPers worked. Partially because, until now, the only way Fujino could ask about the supernatural would be to approach Ryougi Shiki, and that was not an option. But she had no interest in it regardless, hasn't she?
There was silence for a long time in the room, before Hanakari talked again.
"So." He began. "How important is that person you're looking for?"
Oh? How did he-
Right, he was right there while Fujino had been talking with Urahara, he would have overheard.
"She's important." Asagami replied simply.
There was silence for another long moment, before Hanakari spoke with a suspicious tone. "Who is she to you, anyway?"
"The student council president at my school." Fujino replied. "She's a very important member of the community."
"And you know her well?" Hanakari replied. "It doesn't sound like she's a friend, or anything."
"Why does it matter to you?" Asagami asked. "It's not as if it effects you, does it?"
"I was curious as to what kind of person would inspire you to stick around in a town full of Hollows even after knowing you're like candy to them." He replied. "And from what I'm hearing, it's not about the person at all. You're just an idiot."
Fujino paused. "...Excuse me?"
"If she was someone you talked to a bunch, you would've called her a friend or something." Hanakari noted. "Instead you said she was important the community. The community ain't important, if you're the one risking your life. If she's not someone important to you, specifically, then you should just leave and be safe. Therefore, idiot."
"I suspect that this conversation isn't going to benefit either of us." Asagami declared. "Please stop talking."
The rude boy huffed, but didn't try to argue with her.
He was right, on some level, but he didn't need to be so rude about it. It was true that Fujino didn't know Misaya that well. Technically speaking, it was likely that the girl would think Fujino herself was being overly familiar if she referred to her as Misaya in conversation. But it wasn't entirely about Misaya, Fujino had to admit.
Ouji Misaya was a girl who had lost two people close to her in so short a time frame, when just one death was enough to weigh heavily on a person. If Fujino could make a difference by interfering, then that was the right thing to do. Just because the two girls didn't know each other that well didn't change anything. Going out of her way to help someone through a difficult time, even with the amount of effort it was taking Asagami just to find her, that was just something that a good person would do.
Asagami Fujino was not a good person. She was a murderer who killed several people and enjoyed every second of it. At least one had done nothing to deserve it. Perhaps a second. Someone who took pleasure in the act of killing, to the point where a knife to her throat put a smile on her face, someone like them could not be a good person. But by acting as one, it would at least be proof that it was alright for Fujino to live, that she was capable of good.
The boy had been insulting, but his argument had merit. A normal person would not consider going this far for someone who they barely knew. Someone who would do such a thing could be accurately described as an idiot, perhaps, but accepting that was not going to change Fujino's outlook.
There was the sound of a door opening nearby, and Fujino stopped her train of thought to pay attention to whoever was walking through.
"Asagami?" Asked the voice of Tsumugiya, the small girl. "Tessai is looking at the familiar, and is ready to see you. Do you need assistance?"
"Just let me know when to turn to a door." Fujino replied, walking in the girl's direction. Her cane hit something solid in front of her somewhat, and feeling around, Fujino determined that there was a shelf of some sort there. Quickly finding a route around it, Fujino heard Tsumugiya move out of the way as she reached the door.
"He's in the basement." Tsumugiya advised her. "Not the training room, before that. There's stairs to your left, and it's through the door beneath them."
"Thank you." Fujino replied, as she started making her way towards said location.
Getting there took some difficulty, but not any more than stairs usually gave her. The door's handle was placed oddly high, but that only took a second to resolve.
"Excuse me?" Fujino asked as she stepped into the room.
"Ah, Asagami." A man's voice responded. "Tsukabishi Tessai, at your service. Kisuke tells me that you wanted to know about the familiar."
Kisuke must be Urahara's first name, Fujino noted to herself, as she nodded.
"It did come after me." She confirmed. "And I'm not entirely sure what a familiar is, anyway."
Tsukabishi paused, for a moment. "This might be something of a lecture, Asagami." He warned. "You may want to take a seat. There's one to your left."
Taking a step forward and closing the door behind her, Fujino took a moment to find the seat, and sit down.
"I'll try to keep this simple." Tsukabishi continued. "I've been on the receiving end of these lectures before. They can be painful."
"I don't mind." Asagami replied. "I'm planning to stay here until Urahara finishes fixing Arisawa's arm anyway. Take your time."
There was a moment of silence, followed by the sound of Tsukabishi clearing his throat.
"As ground work." He began. "I should discuss what Fairies are. Technically, there are a few beings in this world that would fall under that label, but I am sure you'll find the relevant description familiar. Small, flighty, possessing the ability to escape the perception of a normal human's eye, with a faint glow to them?"
Fujino nodded. There wasn't much to say, since it was obvious that this was a description of the being that Tsumugiya had caught and taken to this place.
"Moving on, and to be brief, we have familiars. Those with the right blend of supernatural ability can create a pact with a living being, or replicate one with their abilities for this purpose, to link their mind to it, control it, and give it orders."
"So this is what the fairy is?" Fujino asked. "Something that made a pact?"
"Not quiet." Tsukabishi continued. "I had thought so at first, but the creature began to degrade as I observed it. As far as I can tell, it is an apparition, formed from spirit energy to match a memory of one who had encountered a spirit."
"I'm not sure if I fully understand that." Fujino admitted. "Matching a memory? As in, someone is recreating something they had seen before?"
"It's complicated." The man warned. "Think of it as... Did your parents ever own a set of cookie cutters? That wouldn't be an inaccurate comparison. It's like you took the outline of a dog, or a small man, and put it in cookie dough to shape it, before baking it."
"I see." Fujino noted.
"This might not have been all too important." Tsukabishi admitted. "So to keep this focused somewhat, think of it like a puppet. Someone carved a fairy-shaped familiar, with enough skill in the tools to replicate the abilities of a fairy, while with enough sloppy craftsmanship that it was degrading at my examination. If that was an intentional feature or a triggered failsafe, and decent magician could have dissolved it well before I got any useful information out of it."
"So you did get some information out of it?" Fujino asked.
"I've determined it's purpose, at least." He confirmed. "It appears to be some form of memory eater."
"What?" Fujino asked. "I mean, memory eater? As in, it consumes memories? What effect would that even have on a person?"
"Removal of memories." He explained. "And the storage of them, it would seem. Perhaps more, but that would require another look to confirm. As far as I can tell, the fairies exist as a method of suppressing information. I'd put money on some kind of link, between whatever you were doing when you first encountered one, and the fact that it came for you."
What she was first doing? Fujino was looking for Misaya at a train station, at that time.
Which confirmed the theory that Fujino had, then. The rumour of fairy-like creatures in Reien before Misaya disappears, and then fairy-like creatures attempt to consume memories that belonged to people looking for Misaya.
And as a matter of fact, hadn't that girl in the doctor's clinic have a problem trying to remember passing by the train station around the time Misaya was likely to have passed by?
One thing was chance, and two was coincidence. Three different potentially connected links to these creatures and Misaya?
It could still very much be a coincidence, but at this point, it was for the best to assume that the link was there.
So, from there, the question was raised. What did that mean?
Was Misaya somehow the one making the creatures? Did she not want to be found, for whatever reason?
Or, as an alternative, were the creatures the work of someone trying to keep Misaya from being found?
That second possibility was a frightening one, Fujino thought to herself. There weren't many implications to the idea that invisible creatures had worked to keep Misaya away from anyone who would look for her, right after two people she cared about died within such a short time period.
She needed to look into this further, for Misaya's sake.
But before she could do that...
"If they can eat memories, then what's stopping it from finding me while I sleep?" Fujino asked. "I mean, it isn't as if I have any abilities that would keep me safe at night. Or any way to tell when they're coming when I'm not using my ESP, for that matter."
Tsukabichi was silent for a long time, before he gave his reply.
"Perhaps you don't have any outright powers that would defend you automatically." He began. "But people who possess supernatural abilities also have a habit of resisting supernatural abilities. Not complete immunity, but resistance. And any sort of memory effect has to overpower the target's spirit to work. It may come down to how powerful your ESP is. If you have enough potential, it could be that you would resist long enough for the disturbed energy within you to make you wake up. Otherwise, I could look into alternate solutions."
A matter of how powerful her ESP was?
If only Fujino had a benchmark to compare herself to, so she would know what powerful looked like for an ESPer. She could ask Tsukabichi, but information regarding her supernatural powers wasn't exactly something she wanted to give out easily. Especially one so closely linked to her murders.
Well, perhaps she was overly defensive there. She had tried to look into the murders herself, after the rumour spread that she might be connected to them, so she could hear the official statement. The bus driver's death was written off as a freak accident, with no information being shared that could link it to telekinesis if you knew it was a possibility, and while Fujino's kills were rather distinctive, the public were only told that the limbs were mangled.
As weird as it was to think, Fujino was hardly the only killed to leave mangled limbs in Mifune City. Which, now that she did think about it, was actually rather worrisome. What was going on behind the scenes there?
Well, that hardly mattered for now. What did matter was, as far as Fujino could tell, there wasn't a distinction in the public statements on her murders and the other murders, ones she had alibi's for, that any could be proven to be hers. The only thing that Fujino was giving away with this answer was that she had been somewhere on a certain night, and anyone could look into her recent records to find that out.
"I might have destroyed a bridge once." Fujino admitted, suddenly feeling embarrassed at the confession. "Nobody got hurt except me. It was, um, thirteen kilometres long. I'm not sure how that compares to most ESPers, but if you know anything, that might help determine how much power I have."
Tsukabichi didn't reply at first. As time passed, Fujino started to get worried.
"I hadn't planned on destroying the bridge." She commented.
"I am not judging." Tsukabichi answered a moment later. "I don't know the circumstances. I just... Don't think you have anything to worry about, Asagami."
"That is a relief." Fujino replied, trying not to think about how that was confirmation that she was stronger than most. Which, looking back, would probably explain Tsukabichi's silence. "Though, what about Arisawa? She had noticed and stopped the creature, and was there when a second one came for me. Would she be at risk?"
"That is fairly likely." Tsukabichi replied, his voice sounding distracted still. "I'll have to talk to Kisuke, after he is done with her. Maybe the two of you should wait until we find some kind of solution for that before you leave. Apologies for keeping you here for so long, as a side note."
"It's not a problem." Fujino replied.
"Speaking of which, Kisuke should be done soon. Is there anything else you wanted to talk about, or would you rather wait for them upstairs?"
"Perhaps we should go upstairs." Fujino answered, as she stood up again. Reaching around with her cane, she took a moment to identify where the door and door handle were, and moved towards it.
In the time in which Urahara and Tsukabishi are talking amongst themselves, Tatsuki and Fujino have a moment to talk as well. What do they focus on?
[X] The memory consuming fairies, and if Arisawa has noticed anyone around her forgetting things recently.
[X] Hollows, dead souls, and the fact that Karakura Town has more ghosts than most places, apparently.
"Urahara?" Fujino asked, turning away from the door again to the general direction she had heard the man speaking in. "You said that someone was having a look at the fairy creature that the girl had stumbled across, didn't you?"
"I told her to pass it on to Tessai, yes." Urahara confirmed. "Curious?"
"I would like to know more about it, yes." Fujino admitted. "Mysteries are rather annoying, I find, and I'd rather know what it is than let it be a surprise later."
"Alright, then." Urahara replied. "I'll let Tessai know you're curious, and tell him to send Ururu to get you soon."
"Thank you." Fujino bowed, slightly. "I will remain here in the meantime."
"Feel free to browse the merchandise." Urahara suggested, in an offhand tone. Fujino took a moment to realise what he had said, but before she could remind him of her blindness, he had started talking again. "Arisawa, follow me."
There was footsteps, and a door opened. More footsteps, a door closed. Someone muttered something on the other side of the door that Fujino didn't catch.
"In case it wasn't obvious." A boyish voice from nearby spoke up suddenly. "He wasn't being serious. He doesn't forget things, he just thinks he's funnier than he is."
Oh?
"I see." Fujino noted. "Urahara called you Jinta, didn't he? Is that what everyone calls you, or would you prefer a stranger use something more formal?"
"I don't care." He brushed off. "Call me Hanakari if it bothers you to be informal, but it's just a name."
"Understood." Fujino noted. Being formal would be more comfortable for her, with a stranger, so given the choice... "While I'm here, what merchandise does Urahara sell, Hanakari?"
"Here? Candy." The boy replied. There was the sound of a broom hitting the floor, and some footsteps. "Break time. But anyway, the supernatural stock's in the back, but there's probably not anything there for you. 'Less your ESP lets you leave the flesh and walk around as a spiritual body or something."
"Can ESP do that?" Fujino asked. She had only ever encountered ESP that had something to do with sight, be it her clairvoyance, her bending, or Shiki's...
Well, the terrifying power to kill anything, according to Shiki, had been based on her eyes seeing the flaws in existence. That fit the pattern.
"I dunno." Hanakari replied. "You're the only one I've met. Wouldn't be surprised, though. I've heard it can be done by some people and I've given up trying to figure out what kind of supernatural person can do what kind of supernatural thing. It'll give you a headache if you try to pay attention."
That was a rather simple way of looking at things, Fujino thought. But at the end of the day, it wasn't too different from her own stance of things, was it? She never went out of her way to figure out how her powers worked, or how other ESPers worked. Partially because, until now, the only way Fujino could ask about the supernatural would be to approach Ryougi Shiki, and that was not an option. But she had no interest in it regardless, hasn't she?
There was silence for a long time in the room, before Hanakari talked again.
"So." He began. "How important is that person you're looking for?"
Oh? How did he-
Right, he was right there while Fujino had been talking with Urahara, he would have overheard.
"She's important." Asagami replied simply.
There was silence for another long moment, before Hanakari spoke with a suspicious tone. "Who is she to you, anyway?"
"The student council president at my school." Fujino replied. "She's a very important member of the community."
"And you know her well?" Hanakari replied. "It doesn't sound like she's a friend, or anything."
"Why does it matter to you?" Asagami asked. "It's not as if it effects you, does it?"
"I was curious as to what kind of person would inspire you to stick around in a town full of Hollows even after knowing you're like candy to them." He replied. "And from what I'm hearing, it's not about the person at all. You're just an idiot."
Fujino paused. "...Excuse me?"
"If she was someone you talked to a bunch, you would've called her a friend or something." Hanakari noted. "Instead you said she was important the community. The community ain't important, if you're the one risking your life. If she's not someone important to you, specifically, then you should just leave and be safe. Therefore, idiot."
"I suspect that this conversation isn't going to benefit either of us." Asagami declared. "Please stop talking."
The rude boy huffed, but didn't try to argue with her.
He was right, on some level, but he didn't need to be so rude about it. It was true that Fujino didn't know Misaya that well. Technically speaking, it was likely that the girl would think Fujino herself was being overly familiar if she referred to her as Misaya in conversation. But it wasn't entirely about Misaya, Fujino had to admit.
Ouji Misaya was a girl who had lost two people close to her in so short a time frame, when just one death was enough to weigh heavily on a person. If Fujino could make a difference by interfering, then that was the right thing to do. Just because the two girls didn't know each other that well didn't change anything. Going out of her way to help someone through a difficult time, even with the amount of effort it was taking Asagami just to find her, that was just something that a good person would do.
Asagami Fujino was not a good person. She was a murderer who killed several people and enjoyed every second of it. At least one had done nothing to deserve it. Perhaps a second. Someone who took pleasure in the act of killing, to the point where a knife to her throat put a smile on her face, someone like them could not be a good person. But by acting as one, it would at least be proof that it was alright for Fujino to live, that she was capable of good.
The boy had been insulting, but his argument had merit. A normal person would not consider going this far for someone who they barely knew. Someone who would do such a thing could be accurately described as an idiot, perhaps, but accepting that was not going to change Fujino's outlook.
There was the sound of a door opening nearby, and Fujino stopped her train of thought to pay attention to whoever was walking through.
"Asagami?" Asked the voice of Tsumugiya, the small girl. "Tessai is looking at the familiar, and is ready to see you. Do you need assistance?"
"Just let me know when to turn to a door." Fujino replied, walking in the girl's direction. Her cane hit something solid in front of her somewhat, and feeling around, Fujino determined that there was a shelf of some sort there. Quickly finding a route around it, Fujino heard Tsumugiya move out of the way as she reached the door.
"He's in the basement." Tsumugiya advised her. "Not the training room, before that. There's stairs to your left, and it's through the door beneath them."
"Thank you." Fujino replied, as she started making her way towards said location.
Getting there took some difficulty, but not any more than stairs usually gave her. The door's handle was placed oddly high, but that only took a second to resolve.
"Excuse me?" Fujino asked as she stepped into the room.
"Ah, Asagami." A man's voice responded. "Tsukabishi Tessai, at your service. Kisuke tells me that you wanted to know about the familiar."
Kisuke must be Urahara's first name, Fujino noted to herself, as she nodded.
"It did come after me." She confirmed. "And I'm not entirely sure what a familiar is, anyway."
Tsukabishi paused, for a moment. "This might be something of a lecture, Asagami." He warned. "You may want to take a seat. There's one to your left."
Taking a step forward and closing the door behind her, Fujino took a moment to find the seat, and sit down.
"I'll try to keep this simple." Tsukabishi continued. "I've been on the receiving end of these lectures before. They can be painful."
"I don't mind." Asagami replied. "I'm planning to stay here until Urahara finishes fixing Arisawa's arm anyway. Take your time."
There was a moment of silence, followed by the sound of Tsukabishi clearing his throat.
"As ground work." He began. "I should discuss what Fairies are. Technically, there are a few beings in this world that would fall under that label, but I am sure you'll find the relevant description familiar. Small, flighty, possessing the ability to escape the perception of a normal human's eye, with a faint glow to them?"
Fujino nodded. There wasn't much to say, since it was obvious that this was a description of the being that Tsumugiya had caught and taken to this place.
"Moving on, and to be brief, we have familiars. Those with the right blend of supernatural ability can create a pact with a living being, or replicate one with their abilities for this purpose, to link their mind to it, control it, and give it orders."
"So this is what the fairy is?" Fujino asked. "Something that made a pact?"
"Not quiet." Tsukabishi continued. "I had thought so at first, but the creature began to degrade as I observed it. As far as I can tell, it is an apparition, formed from spirit energy to match a memory of one who had encountered a spirit."
"I'm not sure if I fully understand that." Fujino admitted. "Matching a memory? As in, someone is recreating something they had seen before?"
"It's complicated." The man warned. "Think of it as... Did your parents ever own a set of cookie cutters? That wouldn't be an inaccurate comparison. It's like you took the outline of a dog, or a small man, and put it in cookie dough to shape it, before baking it."
"I see." Fujino noted.
"This might not have been all too important." Tsukabishi admitted. "So to keep this focused somewhat, think of it like a puppet. Someone carved a fairy-shaped familiar, with enough skill in the tools to replicate the abilities of a fairy, while with enough sloppy craftsmanship that it was degrading at my examination. If that was an intentional feature or a triggered failsafe, and decent magician could have dissolved it well before I got any useful information out of it."
"So you did get some information out of it?" Fujino asked.
"I've determined it's purpose, at least." He confirmed. "It appears to be some form of memory eater."
"What?" Fujino asked. "I mean, memory eater? As in, it consumes memories? What effect would that even have on a person?"
"Removal of memories." He explained. "And the storage of them, it would seem. Perhaps more, but that would require another look to confirm. As far as I can tell, the fairies exist as a method of suppressing information. I'd put money on some kind of link, between whatever you were doing when you first encountered one, and the fact that it came for you."
What she was first doing? Fujino was looking for Misaya at a train station, at that time.
Which confirmed the theory that Fujino had, then. The rumour of fairy-like creatures in Reien before Misaya disappears, and then fairy-like creatures attempt to consume memories that belonged to people looking for Misaya.
And as a matter of fact, hadn't that girl in the doctor's clinic have a problem trying to remember passing by the train station around the time Misaya was likely to have passed by?
One thing was chance, and two was coincidence. Three different potentially connected links to these creatures and Misaya?
It could still very much be a coincidence, but at this point, it was for the best to assume that the link was there.
So, from there, the question was raised. What did that mean?
Was Misaya somehow the one making the creatures? Did she not want to be found, for whatever reason?
Or, as an alternative, were the creatures the work of someone trying to keep Misaya from being found?
That second possibility was a frightening one, Fujino thought to herself. There weren't many implications to the idea that invisible creatures had worked to keep Misaya away from anyone who would look for her, right after two people she cared about died within such a short time period.
She needed to look into this further, for Misaya's sake.
But before she could do that...
"If they can eat memories, then what's stopping it from finding me while I sleep?" Fujino asked. "I mean, it isn't as if I have any abilities that would keep me safe at night. Or any way to tell when they're coming when I'm not using my ESP, for that matter."
Tsukabichi was silent for a long time, before he gave his reply.
"Perhaps you don't have any outright powers that would defend you automatically." He began. "But people who possess supernatural abilities also have a habit of resisting supernatural abilities. Not complete immunity, but resistance. And any sort of memory effect has to overpower the target's spirit to work. It may come down to how powerful your ESP is. If you have enough potential, it could be that you would resist long enough for the disturbed energy within you to make you wake up. Otherwise, I could look into alternate solutions."
A matter of how powerful her ESP was?
If only Fujino had a benchmark to compare herself to, so she would know what powerful looked like for an ESPer. She could ask Tsukabichi, but information regarding her supernatural powers wasn't exactly something she wanted to give out easily. Especially one so closely linked to her murders.
Well, perhaps she was overly defensive there. She had tried to look into the murders herself, after the rumour spread that she might be connected to them, so she could hear the official statement. The bus driver's death was written off as a freak accident, with no information being shared that could link it to telekinesis if you knew it was a possibility, and while Fujino's kills were rather distinctive, the public were only told that the limbs were mangled.
As weird as it was to think, Fujino was hardly the only killed to leave mangled limbs in Mifune City. Which, now that she did think about it, was actually rather worrisome. What was going on behind the scenes there?
Well, that hardly mattered for now. What did matter was, as far as Fujino could tell, there wasn't a distinction in the public statements on her murders and the other murders, ones she had alibi's for, that any could be proven to be hers. The only thing that Fujino was giving away with this answer was that she had been somewhere on a certain night, and anyone could look into her recent records to find that out.
"I might have destroyed a bridge once." Fujino admitted, suddenly feeling embarrassed at the confession. "Nobody got hurt except me. It was, um, thirteen kilometres long. I'm not sure how that compares to most ESPers, but if you know anything, that might help determine how much power I have."
Tsukabichi didn't reply at first. As time passed, Fujino started to get worried.
"I hadn't planned on destroying the bridge." She commented.
"I am not judging." Tsukabichi answered a moment later. "I don't know the circumstances. I just... Don't think you have anything to worry about, Asagami."
"That is a relief." Fujino replied, trying not to think about how that was confirmation that she was stronger than most. Which, looking back, would probably explain Tsukabichi's silence. "Though, what about Arisawa? She had noticed and stopped the creature, and was there when a second one came for me. Would she be at risk?"
"That is fairly likely." Tsukabichi replied, his voice sounding distracted still. "I'll have to talk to Kisuke, after he is done with her. Maybe the two of you should wait until we find some kind of solution for that before you leave. Apologies for keeping you here for so long, as a side note."
"It's not a problem." Fujino replied.
"Speaking of which, Kisuke should be done soon. Is there anything else you wanted to talk about, or would you rather wait for them upstairs?"
"Perhaps we should go upstairs." Fujino answered, as she stood up again. Reaching around with her cane, she took a moment to identify where the door and door handle were, and moved towards it.
In the time in which Urahara and Tsukabishi are talking amongst themselves, Tatsuki and Fujino have a moment to talk as well. What do they focus on?
[X] The memory consuming fairies, and if Arisawa has noticed anyone around her forgetting things recently.
[X] Hollows, dead souls, and the fact that Karakura Town has more ghosts than most places, apparently.
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Update 8
Mortifer
Embrace your inner lunatic. Fun times guaranteed.
- Location
- Under a rock.
[X] The memory consuming fairies, and if Arisawa has noticed anyone around her forgetting things recently.
Even if Tsukabichi said that Urahara was almost done with Arisawa, he and Fujino still ended up waiting for some time before the other two returned to the entrance of the store. The children who were around earlier weren't anymore, but from the lack of comment or apparent concern on Tsukabichi's part, it probably wasn't important. Maybe they had gone to play outside somewhere.
The wait went on for some time, before Tsukabichi spoke up.
"I don't suppose you'd like to purchase anything?" He asked. "We don't have anything for ESPers specifically in our stock, but we do also sell candy."
"I don't have any money on me right now." Fujino replied. "Sorry."
"Understandable." Tsukabichi accepted the answer, before the room fell into silence again.
Eventually, Fujino heard the footsteps, and before long, Arisawa and Urahara returned.
"And we're done." Urahara mentioned. "If Arisawa keeps following Asagami around and runs into any more Hollows, she'll be able to lend a second hand, now."
"Damn straight." Arisawa replied, a joyful tone to her voice. "And you're sure nobody's gonna comment on this?"
"As I've explained a hundred times, we have safeguards for this kind of thing. Nobody's gonna think it's strange. Not unless they were already involved in the supernatural."
"Kisuke." Tsukabichi spoke up, suddenly. "Before we send the girls off, there's another problem."
"Of course there is." Urahara sighed.
"The Familiar is a recreation of a proper Fairy. It retains a memory-consuming ability. Asagami has enough spiritual power to be resistant, but Arisawa does not."
"Hold on." Arisawa interrupted. "It does what now?"
"Devours memories." Tsukabichi explained. "If it gets on you, it would be able to take your memories of any certain thing, preventing you from remembering anything it takes."
"...I see the problem." Arisawa noted. "How do we avoid this problem? I mean, I can barely see them at the best of time, and even if I try really hard to avoid them, I have to sleep sometime."
"I can probably find something in the back which can help you." Urahara noted. "Gimme a bit, I'll see if I can find something. Tessai, come give me a hand."
"We'll try not to take too long." Tsukabichi assured the two girls. "Sorry for keeping you."
There was footsteps again, which was presumably Tsukabichi and Urahara leaving the room, before Arisawa started talking.
"...Well this seems complicated." She noted. "Ghost monsters, magic candy sellers, fairy's that eat memories..."
"It is strange, yes." Fujino nodded. "From what I understand, there's someone controlling the fairies that are trying to keep things hidden."
"Any idea what?" Arisawa asked.
Asagami took a moment to think about how to describe her theory to Arisawa.
"...I suspect it might be relating to why I'm here." Asagami began. "Which would explain why they came after me. I think they have something to do with the girl I'm looking for, Misaya. There was talk of a rumour about fairies a little bit before she went missing, and now they're here when I look for her."
"So what you're saying is, it's really important I figure out some way of not forgetting the last few days ever happened." Arisawa noted.
"I sincerely hope so." Fujino noted. "Whatever the reason, the fairies do seem to be trying to keep people from finding Misaya. One of the girls at the doctor's clinic earlier mentioned that they passed by the train station around the time Misaya would have arrived, but then couldn't remember anything about it. For all we know, she saw Misaya and the fairies got her."
"For all we know, I saw Misaya and the fairies got me." Arisawa muttered. "Well, this just got creepy."
"At the very least, if this is related to Misaya, then you won't have to worry about it for very long." Asagami pointed out. "If it's something following her, then once she leaves, the fairies will as well."
And if Misaya is responsible for the fairies, then once she leaves, they obviously won't be around here any more. But that would take a while for Fujino to explain. She really should tell Arisawa everything, if Arisawa was dead set on helping her, but it was likely to be an explanation that took a while, and right now, Urahara and Tsukabichi could come back and interrupt the conversation at any second. So for now, she may as well keep it simple.
A moment passed, before Fujino noticed that Arisawa had stopped talking.
"Is there a problem, Arisawa?" Fujino asked.
"...Maybe it's nothing." She began. "But a while ago, back on the last day of school before break? A few friends of mine were acting weird, and were looking at a desk and classmate they barely knew like there was something weird. They didn't say anything, but they seemed confused. And Orhime's out of the town for now and Ichigo's been avoiding me since then so I don't know for sure, but..."
"...You think there's something strange going on." Fujino finished. "You think that something similar to this happened. Something to do with memories."
It didn't take a genius to connect what they were talking about to what Arisawa's sudden train of thought had been sparked by, after all.
"I might be wrong." Arisawa admitted. "And I should really corner Ichigo later to find out for sure. But this has gotten me thinking anyway. These fairy things, they aren't the only things that can erase memories, are they? If they were, then why would Hats and Clogs think he can do something about it?"
"Are you referring to Urahara or Tsukabichi when you call them Hats and Clogs?"
"Er... Urahara. My bad." Arisawa apologised.
"That... Is a fair point, though." Fujino admitted.
"I'm going to have to look into this as well." Arisawa muttered under her breath. "Well, maybe later. I've got no idea where Ichigo might be this time of day. If we're looking for that friend of yours, maybe we can keep an eye out for him as well."
"Perhaps." Fujino noted. "How late is it, anyway?"
"Just after lunch, around now." Arisawa noted. "Did you eat anything before we met at the train station? I could buy something for you if you haven't eaten yet."
"I'm good, Arisawa." Fujino replied. "Don't waste anything on me. I'm not hungry anyway."
Before Arisawa could reply, Fujino heard footsteps coming towards them.
"I think Urahara's found something." She noted, just as a door opened.
"Here we go." Said the man himself. "Got something for you, Arisawa."
Arisawa moved, but then suddenly stopped.
"Cash up front." Urahara asked.
"Wait, since when am I paying for this?" Arisawa asked.
"Fixing your arm was on the house." Urahara replied. "This isn't. Surely a girl like you's got some money, right?"
"Are you seriously going to make me pay for the right of not forgetting everything?"
"Look, I'm not running a charity." Urahara began. "If I just let anyone come in and take stuff for free, the small children that work here would starve. Think of the children, Arisawa."
Arisawa sighed. "Fine. How much?"
"How much do you have on you?"
"...Is this price going to vary depending on how much money I am currently carrying?" Arisawa asked.
"I highly doubt you can pay the full price, so I'll give you the discount required to be a decent human being. How much?"
There was a grumbling sound from Arisawa, before she started muttering again. "Here, just take everything. Happy?"
"Very much so." Urahara replied. "Here, catch."
There was the faint sound of something being thrown, and then something being caught.
"A pill a day keeps the fairies away." Urahara noted. "Take one on your way out, take one every morning, and... I'd say take an extra before you go to bed after that, just to be on the safe side. Too much time over the twenty four hour mark might be risking it."
"Thanks." Arisawa grumbled. "I appreciated the chance to be relevant, and not be mindwiped and have to sit this out. Wish that didn't cost me."
"And I wish I was getting more out of you than I was losing for this discount." Urahara replied. "We're all disappointed in this exchange."
"I feel like you weren't like this as much when we came in." Arisawa noted. "I feel like you got less serious once you finished lecturing Asagami."
"Probably, yeah." Urahara agreed. "Anyway, neither of you have any more money, so you shouldn't have any more business here, at this point. Bye. Have fun. Try not to break your arm again."
"Thank you again, for the warning." Asagami bowed. "I appreciate knowing more about what is going on, now."
"Yeah, thanks." Arisawa replied. She started walking out, and Fujino followed, a moment later. Tsukabichi said his farewell from within the store, and Fujino waved back, as she felt around to make sure she was walking through the door, as opposed to into the wall.
"Well, that's over." Arisawa noted. "We were in there for a while."
"It wasn't that long." Fujino replied.
"Well it was a long time when it was just some old guy standing around looking at your arm." Arisawa replied. "Didn't help that it took forever before anything even happened. Didn't notice a difference until pretty much the end, I was starting to think I was wasting my time."
"That's unfortunate." Fujino admitted.
The two walked off for a bit, getting some distance from the store. Fujino heard Arisawa swallowing something, likely the pill that Urahara had prescribed.
"This has been a day." Arisawa sighed. "I start out bored and decide to lend a hand because, hey, it's not like I'm doing anything. Now I'm finding out about memory eaters and there's a decent chance that people have been messing with memories around this place for a while now."
"That does seem like it would be worrisome." Fujino agreed.
"One thing at a time, though." Arisawa decided. "Your friend has those fairy things following her, right? We should figure out what that's about, and figure out how to make it stop."
Fujino took a moment to think about it, before deciding that now was probably a good time to explain more about the situation to Arisawa.
"It may be more complicated than that." Fujino replied. "I honestly don't know enough about the situation to rule anything out, so there's a lot of possibilities. For all we know, it could be Misaya herself controlling the fairies, and trying to keep hidden.
"...Huh." Arisawa reacted. "Your think that's a possibility? Is there any reason she'd want to stay hidden this badly?"
"The same reason she ran away, likely." Fujino replied. "A friend of hers died a few months ago, and a teacher she was close to died a few days ago. I don't think she's in a good headspace, right now."
"...Yeah, that sounds pretty rough." Arisawa noted.
"I'm... Not entirely sure what to do, if that's the case." Fujino acknowledged . "If the fairies are keeping her hidden on another's command, that's concerning, all things considered, but it's something that can be dealt with. If Misaya doesn't want to be found, then it may be difficult to convince her to come home."
This was seeming more and more complicated by the moment, Fujino had to admit. This was already going to be more difficult than when she had helped Miyazuki Risu.
Back then, Fujino had been lucky. In that situation, Fujino had known the right words to say. The friend Risu was mourning, Andou Yuuko, had spoken with Fujino before, and Fujino had just been able to use Andou's words when speaking with Risu to encourage the girl to keep living. Fujino did not know Ouji Misaya's friend, Tachibana, enough to be able to do the same. Nor was she able to repeat anything said to her by Kurogiri, the dead teacher.
But then, Fujino could worry about what to say to when she actually found Misaya, didn't she?
For now, then, with the theory that something supernatural was almost certainly involved with Misaya's situation, perhaps Fujino should use her supernatural trait a bit more to find her. She didn't have any leads at the present, but perhaps if her clairvoyance saw a fairy, or even Ouji herself, at a distance, the situation would simplify itself.
As the conversation between herself and Arisawa lulled, Fujino took a moment to breath, and opened her mind's eye yet again.
It was only a brief glance, a scan around, of the area around Fujino. Even if this would help, she did not want to do it for long. And as she searched for anything that might help her find Misaya, her eyes turned towards a Hollow instead.
It wasn't far from Fujino right now, the oddly formed creature with a head that seemed to be backwards on it's body. It's movements certainly reminded Fujino of someone trying to walk backwards, as it approached-
[X] -A small girl, who stumbled away from the Hollow with an alarmed expression.
[X] -An orange-haired boy, who was moving away from it at a surprisingly fast pace.
[X] -From the looks of it's path, it would be cutting Fujino and Arisawa off, at the next intersection.
Even if Tsukabichi said that Urahara was almost done with Arisawa, he and Fujino still ended up waiting for some time before the other two returned to the entrance of the store. The children who were around earlier weren't anymore, but from the lack of comment or apparent concern on Tsukabichi's part, it probably wasn't important. Maybe they had gone to play outside somewhere.
The wait went on for some time, before Tsukabichi spoke up.
"I don't suppose you'd like to purchase anything?" He asked. "We don't have anything for ESPers specifically in our stock, but we do also sell candy."
"I don't have any money on me right now." Fujino replied. "Sorry."
"Understandable." Tsukabichi accepted the answer, before the room fell into silence again.
Eventually, Fujino heard the footsteps, and before long, Arisawa and Urahara returned.
"And we're done." Urahara mentioned. "If Arisawa keeps following Asagami around and runs into any more Hollows, she'll be able to lend a second hand, now."
"Damn straight." Arisawa replied, a joyful tone to her voice. "And you're sure nobody's gonna comment on this?"
"As I've explained a hundred times, we have safeguards for this kind of thing. Nobody's gonna think it's strange. Not unless they were already involved in the supernatural."
"Kisuke." Tsukabichi spoke up, suddenly. "Before we send the girls off, there's another problem."
"Of course there is." Urahara sighed.
"The Familiar is a recreation of a proper Fairy. It retains a memory-consuming ability. Asagami has enough spiritual power to be resistant, but Arisawa does not."
"Hold on." Arisawa interrupted. "It does what now?"
"Devours memories." Tsukabichi explained. "If it gets on you, it would be able to take your memories of any certain thing, preventing you from remembering anything it takes."
"...I see the problem." Arisawa noted. "How do we avoid this problem? I mean, I can barely see them at the best of time, and even if I try really hard to avoid them, I have to sleep sometime."
"I can probably find something in the back which can help you." Urahara noted. "Gimme a bit, I'll see if I can find something. Tessai, come give me a hand."
"We'll try not to take too long." Tsukabichi assured the two girls. "Sorry for keeping you."
There was footsteps again, which was presumably Tsukabichi and Urahara leaving the room, before Arisawa started talking.
"...Well this seems complicated." She noted. "Ghost monsters, magic candy sellers, fairy's that eat memories..."
"It is strange, yes." Fujino nodded. "From what I understand, there's someone controlling the fairies that are trying to keep things hidden."
"Any idea what?" Arisawa asked.
Asagami took a moment to think about how to describe her theory to Arisawa.
"...I suspect it might be relating to why I'm here." Asagami began. "Which would explain why they came after me. I think they have something to do with the girl I'm looking for, Misaya. There was talk of a rumour about fairies a little bit before she went missing, and now they're here when I look for her."
"So what you're saying is, it's really important I figure out some way of not forgetting the last few days ever happened." Arisawa noted.
"I sincerely hope so." Fujino noted. "Whatever the reason, the fairies do seem to be trying to keep people from finding Misaya. One of the girls at the doctor's clinic earlier mentioned that they passed by the train station around the time Misaya would have arrived, but then couldn't remember anything about it. For all we know, she saw Misaya and the fairies got her."
"For all we know, I saw Misaya and the fairies got me." Arisawa muttered. "Well, this just got creepy."
"At the very least, if this is related to Misaya, then you won't have to worry about it for very long." Asagami pointed out. "If it's something following her, then once she leaves, the fairies will as well."
And if Misaya is responsible for the fairies, then once she leaves, they obviously won't be around here any more. But that would take a while for Fujino to explain. She really should tell Arisawa everything, if Arisawa was dead set on helping her, but it was likely to be an explanation that took a while, and right now, Urahara and Tsukabichi could come back and interrupt the conversation at any second. So for now, she may as well keep it simple.
A moment passed, before Fujino noticed that Arisawa had stopped talking.
"Is there a problem, Arisawa?" Fujino asked.
"...Maybe it's nothing." She began. "But a while ago, back on the last day of school before break? A few friends of mine were acting weird, and were looking at a desk and classmate they barely knew like there was something weird. They didn't say anything, but they seemed confused. And Orhime's out of the town for now and Ichigo's been avoiding me since then so I don't know for sure, but..."
"...You think there's something strange going on." Fujino finished. "You think that something similar to this happened. Something to do with memories."
It didn't take a genius to connect what they were talking about to what Arisawa's sudden train of thought had been sparked by, after all.
"I might be wrong." Arisawa admitted. "And I should really corner Ichigo later to find out for sure. But this has gotten me thinking anyway. These fairy things, they aren't the only things that can erase memories, are they? If they were, then why would Hats and Clogs think he can do something about it?"
"Are you referring to Urahara or Tsukabichi when you call them Hats and Clogs?"
"Er... Urahara. My bad." Arisawa apologised.
"That... Is a fair point, though." Fujino admitted.
"I'm going to have to look into this as well." Arisawa muttered under her breath. "Well, maybe later. I've got no idea where Ichigo might be this time of day. If we're looking for that friend of yours, maybe we can keep an eye out for him as well."
"Perhaps." Fujino noted. "How late is it, anyway?"
"Just after lunch, around now." Arisawa noted. "Did you eat anything before we met at the train station? I could buy something for you if you haven't eaten yet."
"I'm good, Arisawa." Fujino replied. "Don't waste anything on me. I'm not hungry anyway."
Before Arisawa could reply, Fujino heard footsteps coming towards them.
"I think Urahara's found something." She noted, just as a door opened.
"Here we go." Said the man himself. "Got something for you, Arisawa."
Arisawa moved, but then suddenly stopped.
"Cash up front." Urahara asked.
"Wait, since when am I paying for this?" Arisawa asked.
"Fixing your arm was on the house." Urahara replied. "This isn't. Surely a girl like you's got some money, right?"
"Are you seriously going to make me pay for the right of not forgetting everything?"
"Look, I'm not running a charity." Urahara began. "If I just let anyone come in and take stuff for free, the small children that work here would starve. Think of the children, Arisawa."
Arisawa sighed. "Fine. How much?"
"How much do you have on you?"
"...Is this price going to vary depending on how much money I am currently carrying?" Arisawa asked.
"I highly doubt you can pay the full price, so I'll give you the discount required to be a decent human being. How much?"
There was a grumbling sound from Arisawa, before she started muttering again. "Here, just take everything. Happy?"
"Very much so." Urahara replied. "Here, catch."
There was the faint sound of something being thrown, and then something being caught.
"A pill a day keeps the fairies away." Urahara noted. "Take one on your way out, take one every morning, and... I'd say take an extra before you go to bed after that, just to be on the safe side. Too much time over the twenty four hour mark might be risking it."
"Thanks." Arisawa grumbled. "I appreciated the chance to be relevant, and not be mindwiped and have to sit this out. Wish that didn't cost me."
"And I wish I was getting more out of you than I was losing for this discount." Urahara replied. "We're all disappointed in this exchange."
"I feel like you weren't like this as much when we came in." Arisawa noted. "I feel like you got less serious once you finished lecturing Asagami."
"Probably, yeah." Urahara agreed. "Anyway, neither of you have any more money, so you shouldn't have any more business here, at this point. Bye. Have fun. Try not to break your arm again."
"Thank you again, for the warning." Asagami bowed. "I appreciate knowing more about what is going on, now."
"Yeah, thanks." Arisawa replied. She started walking out, and Fujino followed, a moment later. Tsukabichi said his farewell from within the store, and Fujino waved back, as she felt around to make sure she was walking through the door, as opposed to into the wall.
"Well, that's over." Arisawa noted. "We were in there for a while."
"It wasn't that long." Fujino replied.
"Well it was a long time when it was just some old guy standing around looking at your arm." Arisawa replied. "Didn't help that it took forever before anything even happened. Didn't notice a difference until pretty much the end, I was starting to think I was wasting my time."
"That's unfortunate." Fujino admitted.
The two walked off for a bit, getting some distance from the store. Fujino heard Arisawa swallowing something, likely the pill that Urahara had prescribed.
"This has been a day." Arisawa sighed. "I start out bored and decide to lend a hand because, hey, it's not like I'm doing anything. Now I'm finding out about memory eaters and there's a decent chance that people have been messing with memories around this place for a while now."
"That does seem like it would be worrisome." Fujino agreed.
"One thing at a time, though." Arisawa decided. "Your friend has those fairy things following her, right? We should figure out what that's about, and figure out how to make it stop."
Fujino took a moment to think about it, before deciding that now was probably a good time to explain more about the situation to Arisawa.
"It may be more complicated than that." Fujino replied. "I honestly don't know enough about the situation to rule anything out, so there's a lot of possibilities. For all we know, it could be Misaya herself controlling the fairies, and trying to keep hidden.
"...Huh." Arisawa reacted. "Your think that's a possibility? Is there any reason she'd want to stay hidden this badly?"
"The same reason she ran away, likely." Fujino replied. "A friend of hers died a few months ago, and a teacher she was close to died a few days ago. I don't think she's in a good headspace, right now."
"...Yeah, that sounds pretty rough." Arisawa noted.
"I'm... Not entirely sure what to do, if that's the case." Fujino acknowledged . "If the fairies are keeping her hidden on another's command, that's concerning, all things considered, but it's something that can be dealt with. If Misaya doesn't want to be found, then it may be difficult to convince her to come home."
This was seeming more and more complicated by the moment, Fujino had to admit. This was already going to be more difficult than when she had helped Miyazuki Risu.
Back then, Fujino had been lucky. In that situation, Fujino had known the right words to say. The friend Risu was mourning, Andou Yuuko, had spoken with Fujino before, and Fujino had just been able to use Andou's words when speaking with Risu to encourage the girl to keep living. Fujino did not know Ouji Misaya's friend, Tachibana, enough to be able to do the same. Nor was she able to repeat anything said to her by Kurogiri, the dead teacher.
But then, Fujino could worry about what to say to when she actually found Misaya, didn't she?
For now, then, with the theory that something supernatural was almost certainly involved with Misaya's situation, perhaps Fujino should use her supernatural trait a bit more to find her. She didn't have any leads at the present, but perhaps if her clairvoyance saw a fairy, or even Ouji herself, at a distance, the situation would simplify itself.
As the conversation between herself and Arisawa lulled, Fujino took a moment to breath, and opened her mind's eye yet again.
It was only a brief glance, a scan around, of the area around Fujino. Even if this would help, she did not want to do it for long. And as she searched for anything that might help her find Misaya, her eyes turned towards a Hollow instead.
It wasn't far from Fujino right now, the oddly formed creature with a head that seemed to be backwards on it's body. It's movements certainly reminded Fujino of someone trying to walk backwards, as it approached-
[X] -A small girl, who stumbled away from the Hollow with an alarmed expression.
[X] -An orange-haired boy, who was moving away from it at a surprisingly fast pace.
[X] -From the looks of it's path, it would be cutting Fujino and Arisawa off, at the next intersection.
Update 9
Mortifer
Embrace your inner lunatic. Fun times guaranteed.
- Location
- Under a rock.
[X] -A small girl, who stumbled away from the Hollow with an alarmed expression.
The backwards facing monster stumbled forward, towards the girl, and Fujino took a moment to observe the situation.
The girl was looking up in fear, directly at the monster. She didn't look hurt, so was she looking at it, and actually seeing it?
That was...
Well, it might be relevant, but for now, the girl was looking in fear as she crawled back, moving to get on her feet while keeping as much distance as she could. She was obviously in danger, right now. And-
Fujino hesitated, as she began to focus her sight.
That Hollow used to be human, didn't it?
It was a double standard, since she'd killed them before. But still, Fujino didn't want to move straight to the murder.
Well, that wasn't true. She wanted to kill it. Her sight had already focused around the Hollow's head, even if it didn't seem to have a neck. But that wasn't really what Fujino wanted, was it? It was the shift in her mindset because of her psychic powers.
It had been a human at some point. Urahara had said that this existence was one of suffering, and Fujino had used that to put the issue out of mind at the time, but that didn't change the fact that this was a human soul. Once she killed it, Fujino would have killed another human soul and taken enjoyment out of it.
The fact that it was a monster wasn't all that relevant. Fujino had killed rapists and innocent strangers alike, and she had enjoyed it all the same either way. If it was a human soul, and if it was sentient enough to go mad in the first place, it was still sentient. Fujino would enjoy the murder for the fact that she had the power and had used it.
The Hollow moved closer to the girl, and Fujino forced that train of thought to an end.
She didn't have time for this, right now. But at the same time, she didn't want to regret a decision she made in the spur of the second again.
Shifting her clairvoyant gaze downwards, Fujino focused on the creatures backwards leg.
Repeat the phrase enough, and it became a curse.
"Bend."
The creatures leg splintered and twisted, and Fujino felt a smile come to her face before she forced herself to stop. Even this much, she was enjoying. For now, at least, she just wanted to buy time for the girl before she made a decision of whether or not to kill the Hollow.
"Did you say something, Asagami?" Arisawa asked, and Fujino took a moment to realise that she had spoken aloud with her curse.
It had felt natural to do it, but she had forgotten that Arisawa would hear it.
"There's a Hollow nearby, Arisawa." Fujino explained. "It was approaching a girl. I'm slowing it down."
"...Ah." Arisawa noted. "You took it out?"
"I slowed it down." Fujino confessed. "It's... More difficult, to simply behead it, now that I know what it actually is."
Arisawa probably reacted, but Fujino was looking around to the black-haired girl. She was looking at the Hollow, confused and somewhat sickened by the spray of blood, but for the second the Hollow was looking around confused, she got to her feet. She looked around, and the Hollow jumped at her. She ran out of the way before it landed on her, and the Hollow took a moment to push itself to its feet, before turning back towards her.
"The girl can see the Hollow." Fujino noted. "Perhaps we should have a talk with her? She's not far from here, and she may be involved."
"She can see-" Arisawa began, before cutting herself off. "Alright, let's go. Which way?"
Fujino took a moment to shift her gaze to cover more ground, so as to see both herself and the Hollow at the same time.
"That way." Fujino answered, pointing her cane. There was a building between her and the Hollow, but it gave the direction away. "The girl is running, but if we follow this street and turn right... Well, if you run ahead, you can catch her."
Pausing for a moment, Fujino considered whether or not to ask it of Arisawa, before reaching a decision.
"Could you try talking to her by yourself first? She asked. "I'd prefer that my secret spread as little as possible. If she doesn't need to know about me, I'd prefer if she didn't."
"That's fine." Arisawa responded. She sounded confused, but from her posture, it was clear she wanted to run off and talk to the girl about the Hollow.
Fujino nodded at her, and Arisawa ran off. Viewing the situation through her clairvoyance, Asagami noticed that the Hollow wasn't limping towards the girl anymore. Rather, it was coming towards her now.
Urahara had mentioned that Asagami would be a beacon to Hollows when her ESP was active, she supposed.
Well, as it was now, the Hollow wasn't putting the girl in any more danger. On the other hand, now Asagami herself was in danger. Killing it and ending that danger would be so easy, but still, she hesitated.
Perhaps it would do her some good to speak to it, and see how far it had degraded. It wasn't as if it could get close to her without losing all of it's limbs anyway, and that extra surety that the Hollow was too far gone to be considered human anymore may make it easier to just kill it.
Walking towards it slowly, with her gaze still focused away from her, Asagami took a moment to reflect about how the sensation of feeling had returned to her again.
She had a rock stuck in her shoe, she noticed suddenly. It was pressing against her heel when she walked. It was slightly painful, but didn't seem sharp, so she left it for now. The sensation may not be inherently enjoyable, but this was something that she rarely got to feel, that normal people would get annoyed about constantly. She wouldn't be feeling it anymore soon anyway, so there was no point making a point of fixing it now.
For a brief second, Fujino shifted her gaze towards Arisawa and the girl, who had met, and were talking. The girl seemed panicked, but the two did see, to be familiar with each other. Or perhaps Asagami was merely leaping to a conclusion, and the girl was simply acting less guarded than Fujino would expect of someone who had just been attacked by a ghost monster.
But that was something that could be dealt with later. The Hollow was shambling towards Fujino now, and as the girl shifted her faze to focus only on it and herself, she spoke.
"Please don't move any further." She began. "I wish to-"
The eyes on the Hollow's mask widened as it looked at her, and it's head started to shake independently of it's body. Then, it began to rotate, with a painful and familiar bending sound, as it's head shifted to a proper orientation facing away from Fujino, and then continued to face backwards again.
As it twisted, it's neck started to emerge upwards, more clearly defining the separation between the body and the head. But more importantly, Fujino noticed something that gave her pause.
The pattern of the twisted neck was reminiscent of her own work.
"Asa... Gami..."
Repeat the phrase enough, and it became a curse.
"Bend."
The Hollow screamed as Fujino focused her power around it's neck, putting her full psychic force behind it. It spun around once, twice, three times, with no apparent harm, before she focused her power downwards.
"Bend!"
The torso on the Hollow was torn in two, and it fell apart.
It knew her name.
The Hollow with the twisted neck, which didn't seem effected by any further twisted to it's neck, knew her name.
Was this one of her victims? How did they get here? Why would they be here? If it's neck was twisted because of her own acts, and it's limbs were fine, that would make it the truck driver, wouldn't it? He wouldn't have known who she was, he only saw her for a brief second before Fujino acted on instinct to kill him.
It knew too much.
"Bend!" She repeated, louder. The Hollow's mask tore in half, as the centre of it's head began to rotate. It's neck didn't seem to be effected, but the rest of it was under no such restriction. It knew too much, and Fujino was strong enough to make sure nothing came of this.
She felt herself smiling, felt the crawling euphoria at the bloody act, and for a moment, she was tempted to let herself enjoy this. She would be panicking later about trying to figure out how the Hollow knew her name, if she was jumping to conclusions, if this was somehow related to the Fairies, if this was somehow related to the man who had healed her spin, for now she could just-
No, she forced herself to calm down. The Hollow was already fading away, anyway. She deactivated her ESP, and ensured she was properly sane before she thought any more on the issue.
She felt the sensation of the rock in her shoes fade away, and began missing the feeling instantly. But she could think more about that later.
So much for convincing herself that the Hollow was too far gone to be considered human. It had talked to her, rather than roaring and screeching. It had recognised her, or at least knew of her. If anything, now she knew more about Hollows and their humanity than anything prior to this point.
And she'd killed it in a blind panic. No, that was not right. She had panicked, yes, but it was hardly blind. It was just enough to give her an excuse, and she enjoyed it for some time before she had restrained herself.
Asagami Fujino was a murderer who loved the thrill. She knew it, and she had thought it before, but now seemed like a fitting point to ensure that she remembered the point. She was a monster who was enjoyed killing people, regardless of the excuse she would use to justify it. She needed to be aware of her this, and her excuses, before she goes as far as she had been going when Ryougi Shiki had hunted her down.
Stop. Take a moment to think about this. Breathe in, breathe out.
The Hollow knew her name, and it's neck was twisted. If the twisted neck had any connection to Fujino's own murders, than it could only be the truck driver. Unless Hollows only bore marks of what had killed them, in which case it could be any of Fujino's murders, assuming that none of them had died of blood loss before she reached their necks.
Or perhaps it was entirely unrelated. The last Hollow she had seen didn't appear to have any marks of death, after all.
So, there was one explanation which would explain why the dead Hollow knew her name, and two more likely explanations which left how it knew her name a mystery. There was something she didn't understand here.
Had she misunderstood what Urahara had meant, when he had said that this land was good for Hollows? Were their ghosts following Fujino around most of the time, which only truly went Hollow and took a physical form when in Karakura town? Were Fujino's other victims going to appear?
Or was this related to the Fairies somehow? They could consume memories, but was that the limit of what they could do? Had they found someone who knew about Asagami and passed on the relevant information to this Hollow?
But who would even know? If Asagami Fujino was safe from the memory consumption with enough psychic power to destroy a bridge, then Ryougi Shiki, who boasted of being able to kill a god, should be immune as well. The man who had healed her back would only know if he was watching, but it was a possibility. And other than that...
Fujino just didn't know.
"Asagami?"
Fujino blinked at the voice, and turned around.
"Did I keep you waiting, Arisawa?" Fujino asked. "My bad. I was lost in thought."
"I heard you shouting something." Arisawa explained. "Like, not loud enough to make out what it was, but you were saying something."
"Sorry." Fujino stated. "I was dealing with the Hollow. It's gone now."
Arisawa didn't need to know any of Fujino's current inner turmoil, the girl decided.
At that comment, though, another voice spoke up.
"Hey, weren't you the girl who had an appointment with goatface this morning?"
Fujino took a moment to recognise that voice. That was one of the doctor's daughters. She suspected it was Karin, but she hadn't been there for long, and it had been a long day since then. It might have been the other one, and Fujino had just gotten their voices confused.
"Oh, er, right." Arisawa noted. "Asagami, this is Kurosaki Karin. You might've run into her at your appointment earlier. She's the sister of my friend Ichigo. Karin, this is Asagami Fujino."
"You told her about me?" Fujino asked, frowning.
"Er, sorry." Arisawa replied, sounding a bit bashful. "I knew her, and she was investigating something about Yuzu forgetting something, so we started talking about it and I kind of let it slip..."
Asagami sighed.
It's fine. It's fine. As long as she dealt with this without either of them finding out that she was a murderer, Asagami could deal with this. It was frustrating, and more people knew her secret now, but Asagami doubted she was ever return to Karakura once she was done here, so it didn't really matter.
"It's nice to meet you, Kurosaki." Fujino nodded. "I assume you and Arisawa reached some kind of agreement on what to do from here?"
"Not too much." Arisawa replied.
"She mentioned that Ichigo might have remembered things that something else forgot recently." Kurosaki noted. "Which means I'm going to have to try and get him to talk. But with regards to you and your friend, we really didn't talk much. It's your business, so I don't want to intrude until you ask about it."
"You'd be fine staying out of it if that's what I wanted?" Fujino asked.
"I don't really want to get involved in all of this." Kurosaki sighed. "Ghosts and ESPers and fairies... It all seems like a hassle. It'd be easier to just pretend like none of it exists like I've always done. Yuzu saying she feels like she's forgotten something made me wonder. I'd felt like I'd forgotten a few things recently, too. But if people are already handling it, then I just want to make sure I know when it's not going to be a problem, and to know what my brother's dealing with."
That was something Fujino could understand, as she listened to the girl's words. Asagami had also wanted to just sit out this whole supernatural life, and in a simpler world, she would have just pretended that her own ESP and related aspects just didn't exist.
But then, in a simpler world, would she have been motivated to help people like Risu and Misaya in the first place?
Well, that was irrelevant, anyway. The fact of the matter was, Fujino could empathise with a desire to not wanting to be involved in the world of the supernatural. And it wasn't as if Fujino had any leads which she could ask Kurosaki Karin to help her with, anyway.
Thinking it over for a second, Fujino reached a decision.
[X] Kurosaki didn't need to get involved if she didn't want to. Asagami and Arisawa would deal with it.
[X] Fujino didn't have any leads, so really, any helping hand to find one would be of assistance.
[X] Perhaps Karin could help Arisawa get answers from Ichigo? If Karin kept him occupied until Arisawa got to their home and cornered him, perhaps they could all get some answers.
The backwards facing monster stumbled forward, towards the girl, and Fujino took a moment to observe the situation.
The girl was looking up in fear, directly at the monster. She didn't look hurt, so was she looking at it, and actually seeing it?
That was...
Well, it might be relevant, but for now, the girl was looking in fear as she crawled back, moving to get on her feet while keeping as much distance as she could. She was obviously in danger, right now. And-
Fujino hesitated, as she began to focus her sight.
That Hollow used to be human, didn't it?
It was a double standard, since she'd killed them before. But still, Fujino didn't want to move straight to the murder.
Well, that wasn't true. She wanted to kill it. Her sight had already focused around the Hollow's head, even if it didn't seem to have a neck. But that wasn't really what Fujino wanted, was it? It was the shift in her mindset because of her psychic powers.
It had been a human at some point. Urahara had said that this existence was one of suffering, and Fujino had used that to put the issue out of mind at the time, but that didn't change the fact that this was a human soul. Once she killed it, Fujino would have killed another human soul and taken enjoyment out of it.
The fact that it was a monster wasn't all that relevant. Fujino had killed rapists and innocent strangers alike, and she had enjoyed it all the same either way. If it was a human soul, and if it was sentient enough to go mad in the first place, it was still sentient. Fujino would enjoy the murder for the fact that she had the power and had used it.
The Hollow moved closer to the girl, and Fujino forced that train of thought to an end.
She didn't have time for this, right now. But at the same time, she didn't want to regret a decision she made in the spur of the second again.
Shifting her clairvoyant gaze downwards, Fujino focused on the creatures backwards leg.
Repeat the phrase enough, and it became a curse.
"Bend."
The creatures leg splintered and twisted, and Fujino felt a smile come to her face before she forced herself to stop. Even this much, she was enjoying. For now, at least, she just wanted to buy time for the girl before she made a decision of whether or not to kill the Hollow.
"Did you say something, Asagami?" Arisawa asked, and Fujino took a moment to realise that she had spoken aloud with her curse.
It had felt natural to do it, but she had forgotten that Arisawa would hear it.
"There's a Hollow nearby, Arisawa." Fujino explained. "It was approaching a girl. I'm slowing it down."
"...Ah." Arisawa noted. "You took it out?"
"I slowed it down." Fujino confessed. "It's... More difficult, to simply behead it, now that I know what it actually is."
Arisawa probably reacted, but Fujino was looking around to the black-haired girl. She was looking at the Hollow, confused and somewhat sickened by the spray of blood, but for the second the Hollow was looking around confused, she got to her feet. She looked around, and the Hollow jumped at her. She ran out of the way before it landed on her, and the Hollow took a moment to push itself to its feet, before turning back towards her.
"The girl can see the Hollow." Fujino noted. "Perhaps we should have a talk with her? She's not far from here, and she may be involved."
"She can see-" Arisawa began, before cutting herself off. "Alright, let's go. Which way?"
Fujino took a moment to shift her gaze to cover more ground, so as to see both herself and the Hollow at the same time.
"That way." Fujino answered, pointing her cane. There was a building between her and the Hollow, but it gave the direction away. "The girl is running, but if we follow this street and turn right... Well, if you run ahead, you can catch her."
Pausing for a moment, Fujino considered whether or not to ask it of Arisawa, before reaching a decision.
"Could you try talking to her by yourself first? She asked. "I'd prefer that my secret spread as little as possible. If she doesn't need to know about me, I'd prefer if she didn't."
"That's fine." Arisawa responded. She sounded confused, but from her posture, it was clear she wanted to run off and talk to the girl about the Hollow.
Fujino nodded at her, and Arisawa ran off. Viewing the situation through her clairvoyance, Asagami noticed that the Hollow wasn't limping towards the girl anymore. Rather, it was coming towards her now.
Urahara had mentioned that Asagami would be a beacon to Hollows when her ESP was active, she supposed.
Well, as it was now, the Hollow wasn't putting the girl in any more danger. On the other hand, now Asagami herself was in danger. Killing it and ending that danger would be so easy, but still, she hesitated.
Perhaps it would do her some good to speak to it, and see how far it had degraded. It wasn't as if it could get close to her without losing all of it's limbs anyway, and that extra surety that the Hollow was too far gone to be considered human anymore may make it easier to just kill it.
Walking towards it slowly, with her gaze still focused away from her, Asagami took a moment to reflect about how the sensation of feeling had returned to her again.
She had a rock stuck in her shoe, she noticed suddenly. It was pressing against her heel when she walked. It was slightly painful, but didn't seem sharp, so she left it for now. The sensation may not be inherently enjoyable, but this was something that she rarely got to feel, that normal people would get annoyed about constantly. She wouldn't be feeling it anymore soon anyway, so there was no point making a point of fixing it now.
For a brief second, Fujino shifted her gaze towards Arisawa and the girl, who had met, and were talking. The girl seemed panicked, but the two did see, to be familiar with each other. Or perhaps Asagami was merely leaping to a conclusion, and the girl was simply acting less guarded than Fujino would expect of someone who had just been attacked by a ghost monster.
But that was something that could be dealt with later. The Hollow was shambling towards Fujino now, and as the girl shifted her faze to focus only on it and herself, she spoke.
"Please don't move any further." She began. "I wish to-"
The eyes on the Hollow's mask widened as it looked at her, and it's head started to shake independently of it's body. Then, it began to rotate, with a painful and familiar bending sound, as it's head shifted to a proper orientation facing away from Fujino, and then continued to face backwards again.
As it twisted, it's neck started to emerge upwards, more clearly defining the separation between the body and the head. But more importantly, Fujino noticed something that gave her pause.
The pattern of the twisted neck was reminiscent of her own work.
"Asa... Gami..."
Repeat the phrase enough, and it became a curse.
"Bend."
The Hollow screamed as Fujino focused her power around it's neck, putting her full psychic force behind it. It spun around once, twice, three times, with no apparent harm, before she focused her power downwards.
"Bend!"
The torso on the Hollow was torn in two, and it fell apart.
It knew her name.
The Hollow with the twisted neck, which didn't seem effected by any further twisted to it's neck, knew her name.
Was this one of her victims? How did they get here? Why would they be here? If it's neck was twisted because of her own acts, and it's limbs were fine, that would make it the truck driver, wouldn't it? He wouldn't have known who she was, he only saw her for a brief second before Fujino acted on instinct to kill him.
It knew too much.
"Bend!" She repeated, louder. The Hollow's mask tore in half, as the centre of it's head began to rotate. It's neck didn't seem to be effected, but the rest of it was under no such restriction. It knew too much, and Fujino was strong enough to make sure nothing came of this.
She felt herself smiling, felt the crawling euphoria at the bloody act, and for a moment, she was tempted to let herself enjoy this. She would be panicking later about trying to figure out how the Hollow knew her name, if she was jumping to conclusions, if this was somehow related to the Fairies, if this was somehow related to the man who had healed her spin, for now she could just-
No, she forced herself to calm down. The Hollow was already fading away, anyway. She deactivated her ESP, and ensured she was properly sane before she thought any more on the issue.
She felt the sensation of the rock in her shoes fade away, and began missing the feeling instantly. But she could think more about that later.
So much for convincing herself that the Hollow was too far gone to be considered human. It had talked to her, rather than roaring and screeching. It had recognised her, or at least knew of her. If anything, now she knew more about Hollows and their humanity than anything prior to this point.
And she'd killed it in a blind panic. No, that was not right. She had panicked, yes, but it was hardly blind. It was just enough to give her an excuse, and she enjoyed it for some time before she had restrained herself.
Asagami Fujino was a murderer who loved the thrill. She knew it, and she had thought it before, but now seemed like a fitting point to ensure that she remembered the point. She was a monster who was enjoyed killing people, regardless of the excuse she would use to justify it. She needed to be aware of her this, and her excuses, before she goes as far as she had been going when Ryougi Shiki had hunted her down.
Stop. Take a moment to think about this. Breathe in, breathe out.
The Hollow knew her name, and it's neck was twisted. If the twisted neck had any connection to Fujino's own murders, than it could only be the truck driver. Unless Hollows only bore marks of what had killed them, in which case it could be any of Fujino's murders, assuming that none of them had died of blood loss before she reached their necks.
Or perhaps it was entirely unrelated. The last Hollow she had seen didn't appear to have any marks of death, after all.
So, there was one explanation which would explain why the dead Hollow knew her name, and two more likely explanations which left how it knew her name a mystery. There was something she didn't understand here.
Had she misunderstood what Urahara had meant, when he had said that this land was good for Hollows? Were their ghosts following Fujino around most of the time, which only truly went Hollow and took a physical form when in Karakura town? Were Fujino's other victims going to appear?
Or was this related to the Fairies somehow? They could consume memories, but was that the limit of what they could do? Had they found someone who knew about Asagami and passed on the relevant information to this Hollow?
But who would even know? If Asagami Fujino was safe from the memory consumption with enough psychic power to destroy a bridge, then Ryougi Shiki, who boasted of being able to kill a god, should be immune as well. The man who had healed her back would only know if he was watching, but it was a possibility. And other than that...
Fujino just didn't know.
"Asagami?"
Fujino blinked at the voice, and turned around.
"Did I keep you waiting, Arisawa?" Fujino asked. "My bad. I was lost in thought."
"I heard you shouting something." Arisawa explained. "Like, not loud enough to make out what it was, but you were saying something."
"Sorry." Fujino stated. "I was dealing with the Hollow. It's gone now."
Arisawa didn't need to know any of Fujino's current inner turmoil, the girl decided.
At that comment, though, another voice spoke up.
"Hey, weren't you the girl who had an appointment with goatface this morning?"
Fujino took a moment to recognise that voice. That was one of the doctor's daughters. She suspected it was Karin, but she hadn't been there for long, and it had been a long day since then. It might have been the other one, and Fujino had just gotten their voices confused.
"Oh, er, right." Arisawa noted. "Asagami, this is Kurosaki Karin. You might've run into her at your appointment earlier. She's the sister of my friend Ichigo. Karin, this is Asagami Fujino."
"You told her about me?" Fujino asked, frowning.
"Er, sorry." Arisawa replied, sounding a bit bashful. "I knew her, and she was investigating something about Yuzu forgetting something, so we started talking about it and I kind of let it slip..."
Asagami sighed.
It's fine. It's fine. As long as she dealt with this without either of them finding out that she was a murderer, Asagami could deal with this. It was frustrating, and more people knew her secret now, but Asagami doubted she was ever return to Karakura once she was done here, so it didn't really matter.
"It's nice to meet you, Kurosaki." Fujino nodded. "I assume you and Arisawa reached some kind of agreement on what to do from here?"
"Not too much." Arisawa replied.
"She mentioned that Ichigo might have remembered things that something else forgot recently." Kurosaki noted. "Which means I'm going to have to try and get him to talk. But with regards to you and your friend, we really didn't talk much. It's your business, so I don't want to intrude until you ask about it."
"You'd be fine staying out of it if that's what I wanted?" Fujino asked.
"I don't really want to get involved in all of this." Kurosaki sighed. "Ghosts and ESPers and fairies... It all seems like a hassle. It'd be easier to just pretend like none of it exists like I've always done. Yuzu saying she feels like she's forgotten something made me wonder. I'd felt like I'd forgotten a few things recently, too. But if people are already handling it, then I just want to make sure I know when it's not going to be a problem, and to know what my brother's dealing with."
That was something Fujino could understand, as she listened to the girl's words. Asagami had also wanted to just sit out this whole supernatural life, and in a simpler world, she would have just pretended that her own ESP and related aspects just didn't exist.
But then, in a simpler world, would she have been motivated to help people like Risu and Misaya in the first place?
Well, that was irrelevant, anyway. The fact of the matter was, Fujino could empathise with a desire to not wanting to be involved in the world of the supernatural. And it wasn't as if Fujino had any leads which she could ask Kurosaki Karin to help her with, anyway.
Thinking it over for a second, Fujino reached a decision.
[X] Kurosaki didn't need to get involved if she didn't want to. Asagami and Arisawa would deal with it.
[X] Fujino didn't have any leads, so really, any helping hand to find one would be of assistance.
[X] Perhaps Karin could help Arisawa get answers from Ichigo? If Karin kept him occupied until Arisawa got to their home and cornered him, perhaps they could all get some answers.
Update 10
Mortifer
Embrace your inner lunatic. Fun times guaranteed.
- Location
- Under a rock.
[X] Perhaps Karin could help Arisawa get answers from Ichigo? If Karin kept him occupied until Arisawa got to their home and cornered him, perhaps they could all get some answers.
Fujino took a moment to look at Kurosaki, thinking it over, before she spoke.
"Do you know what time your brother usually gets home in the afternoon?" She asked.
There was a pause, before Karin replied. "Ever since school went on break, he's been staying out late at night most of the time. Inconsistent on when he gets back, but usually late enough that he just eats dinner and goes to bed. And then he leaves early in the morning as well, and I have no idea what he does all day."
"Hey, Karin." Arisawa said softly, as if trying not to be heard. "She can't see when you shake your head."
"O-Oh, um, my bad."
Asagami didn't comment on the exchange, instead thinking things over for a bit.
"So, if you were going to make him talk on your own, what would you try?" She asked.
Kurosaki took a moment to reply again. "Well, I don't want to cause a scene late at night and wake up Yuzu and goatface, so I suppose I'd try to catch him in the morning before he leaves and hope I can make him talk."
Fujino considered the answer for a moment before she continued. "Wouldn't the rest of your family overhear it if you had a conversation in the house? It might be harder to get answers out of him regarding the supernatural if people who don't know are around."
"I suppose." Kurosaki noted. "Maybe I could get him out of the house for it. He's been distant, but if I make something up about some delinquents chasing kids out of parks, I could talk him into following me there to give them a beating over it."
"This could work." Fujino mused. "Assuming he didn't just leave once he knew it was a trick, and you aren't overheard. Arisawa, do you think you could make him talk if you found him?"
"Probably." Arisawa replied. "If he's trying to keep me in the dark on the supernatural, I know enough to make that pointless, and he shouldn't have any other reason not to talk."
"It might be best if you were there, then." Asagami noted. "Kurosaki, I assume, doesn't know anything direct about the secrets her brother has been keeping? But Arisawa has an example to use for the memory loss, one she was there for first-hand, so she may have better luck in that regard."
"That could work." Kurosaki mused. "I'd need to make sure Yuzu didn't overhear and contradict the story, though. Maybe fill her in in advance that I'm getting Tatsuki to help yell at him for avoiding everyone."
"I'm assuming you'd be dragging him to the usual park, then?" Arisawa asked. "I could probably be there... About seven or so in the morning, if that's what you're doing."
"That should be early enough to stop Ichigo from leaving." Kurosaki noted.
"Should I be there?" Asagami asked. "I don't know him so I wouldn't be of any help in the conversation, but if he does know anything relevant, I would like to know."
"Sure, tag along." Arisawa replied. "You have ESP, so maybe if you're on hand, it'll be easier to get him to talk about supernatural stuff."
"I would prefer not to give a demonstration." Asagami interrupted. "Or let many more people know that I have supernatural powers, unless it was necessary."
"We could just lie and say you've had experience with the stuff happening right now." Arisawa pointed out.
Asagami took a moment to stifle the kneejerk reaction to decline that, and thought it through, for a moment. If Kurosaki Ichigo did know anything relevant to the fairies, memory consumption, or Misaya, then Fujino wanted to be there for the conversation. Actually being able to ask questions was too important to have Fujino just hide.
Besides, there was two possibilities here. That Kurosaki Ichigo was hiding something about the supernatural, or that he didn't know anything. Assuming the former, someone who was trying to keep their secret from spreading wouldn't spread more secrets. And in the case of the latter, then they wouldn't even get that far in the conversation in the first place.
"So, that's the plan then?" Kurosaki Karin asked. "Get Ichigo to the park and get him to talk? What's the plan for that?"
"Start by bringing up how he's avoiding everyone." Tatsuki began. "Move in to how he's been acting weird for a while. Then bring in the supernatural stuff somehow, then the memory eating fairies, then how he seemed to be remembering that one thing differently."
"I'll bring up the whole seeing ghosts thing." Karin offered. "And-"
"The what now thing?" Arisawa interrupted.
There was a moment of silence before Kurosaki continued. "...Ichigo and I have been able to see ghosts since forever. Didn't you hear?"
"I thought that was just a rumour." Arisawa replied. "I'd asked him about it before, when we were kids. After- What, did he just lie to my face about it? Why didn't you mention this before?"
"It's easier to pretend they don't exist." Kurosaki replied. "There's probably nothing good to come from paying attention to the dead."
"Well, it looks like he's been keeping that secret for a while." Grumbled Arisawa. "...Or he did tell me and some memory thing happened so I remember that differently."
"Or I remember it differently." Karin pointed out.
"It's probably simpler to assume the least complicated possibility." Asagami pointed out. "I don't see why someone would alter your memories to make you think someone was involved in the supernatural, and I don't think we have seen any memory changes that would change enough years of memory to be 'Since forever'."
"Yeah, sure, why not." Kurosaki replied. "Probably easier to think that."
"And besides, I think we have enough to work off of now." Asagami replied. "Kurosaki talks her brother into coming to the park with her, Arisawa and I find the two of you, and Arisawa questions him why he's been avoiding everyone. Kurosaki brings up the ghosts and Hollows, Arisawa can mention the difference in memory regarding that one classmate, and if it looks like he knows something after those two points but doesn't say anything, I can bring up the fairies and say that anything he does know about the memory loss may be of help resolving this situation."
"If we need to do anything else, then I suppose we'll figure it out when we get to it." Arisawa commented.
"Alright, then." Kurosaki sighed. "Drag Ichigo to the park, get him to spill, then you guys deal with it while I go and forget any of this ever happened."
"Oh, hold on a moment Karin." Arisawa interrupted. "The fairies' memory eating thing, they won't be able to do that to you if you take these."
There was a moment without any speech as Arisawa, presumably, passed Kurosaki some of the pills she had gotten from Urahara.
"The guy I mentioned earlier, who actually knows about magic stuff? Says if you take one of those every twenty-four hours, they can't get you."
"Thanks." Kurosaki noted. "Just to be clear, though, you said they only chase people who're looking into that girl from out of town?"
"Or to cover up any information about her." Asagami added in. "How many did you give her, Arisawa?"
"About a weeks worth." Arisawa replied. "The old man with the hat said it's safe to take more than on every twenty-four hours and it might be risky to not double up, so just let me know if you need more, I'll take you to the storekeeper to go get more."
"Thanks." Kurosaki replied. "I should be getting home now, then. Need to talk to Yuzu so she knows not to tip Ichigo off."
"See you tomorrow, then." Arisawa said.
"Bye." Kurosaki replied in turn. Asagami waved her hand, until she heard footsteps running off into the distance.
"Well, tomorrow it is, then." Arisawa noted. "Do you have any ideas for finding your friend in the meantime?"
"Not particularly." Asagami replied. "If the fairies are keeping everything about her covered up, then I don't expect just anyone on the street to be able to say much. Unless she bought food at a supermarket at some point and got caught on camera, but I doubt we'd be allowed to look into that."
"She's got to be staying somewhere, though." Arisawa mused to herself. "Maybe it would be worth it to look into all the hotels and motels, and see if she's there. Or if the receptionists have any records of her."
Asagami took a moment to think about that. "When I go back to the hotel tonight, I'll ask again if they've seen her. Maybe if I ask whoever is at the front desk if they have a record to make sure, it'll lead to somewhere. But I doubt it. If Misaya is running away from the fairies, then I don't think she'd want to put people at risk of them, and if she was running with the fairies, I don't think she would be increasing how much work they need to do to hide her."
There was silence for a moment, as Asagami tried to think of what else she could do.
Perhaps she could try to find where there was a lot of fairies, and assume Misaya was around there? But that assumed the fairies weren't just patrolling with instructions. It could work, but there was ways in which it could go wrong, as well.
"Oh, uh, Asagami? Sorry for letting Karin know about you. I know you said not to mention you, I just didn't think it through."
Oh, yes, that had happened. Fujino had been distracted, but now that she remembered it, perhaps she should speak on that matter.
"I would appreciate it if you put more effort into not mentioning me, in the future." Asagami told her. "I've gone through a lot of effort to keep my ESP hidden. I made the mistake of letting you know when I first arrived here and saved you from that Hollow, but this trip in general has already involved too many people finding out. When I go home, I don't want to have to worry about more and more people finding out here."
"Hey, it's fine." Arisawa replied. "Anyone who doesn't already know about the supernatural won't believe it anyway, so-"
That was not the kind of answer that Fujino was looking for.
"Arisawa." She interrupted, with a more stern tone. "Perhaps I was too lenient when I told you about it. Perhaps it has given you the wrong impression of how much I would prefer this stayed a secret. I want to live my life as a normal person, as much as I can under these circumstances. The more people who know about my ESP, the more chance there is that something could happen to ruin that for me."
"...Is it that much of a sore spot for you?" Arisawa asked.
Fujino nodded. "Before I came to Karakua, only one other person knew about this. Between you, Kurosaki, and everyone at the candy shop, that number has risen far more than I am comfortable with."
Fujino hoped that the stern tone she had taken would conceal that one white lie hidden in her words. One person before this adventure, if you discard Ryougi Shiki, Araya Souren, and Keita. But the core point of Fujino's argument remained the same. She had only shown her power to Risu before this, and now it was known to six other people.
"Alright, then." Arisawa replied. "I don't get it, but I understand. I'll try harder not to slip up again. Promise."
Asagami let out a breath she didn't realise she had been holding. "Apologies for being snappy, Arisawa. This trip has been a little stressful. I hope I didn't come across as too rude."
"It's fine, it's fine." Arisawa replied. "...You know, if you really don't want to take that risk, you could sit out the conversation with Ichigo tomorrow if you want. We could probably get answers out of him without you."
"That would be nice." Asagami mused. "But if he does know anything that could be relevant to the fairies, I would prefer to be able to question him on it."
"I could try to make sure for you first." Arisawa replied. "Like, at this point I'll be surprised if Ichigo isn't involved in something supernatural, but you could hide in a bush nearby and I'll talk to Ichigo to make sure he does know anything about memory consumption or anything."
Asagami frowned. "In a bush?"
"Is there a problem with hiding in a bush?" Arisawa asked.
"Wouldn't that be somewhat..." Fujino took a moment to try to fumble for the words. "Undignified?"
Arisawa barely stifled a chuckle, at that.
"If you find something amusing about the situation, I don't see it." Asagami frowned.
"Ah, nothing, don't worry about it." Arisawa replied.
Fujino decided to worry about it. "I feel like it'd draw too much attention if I got some leaves stuck to me, or dirt on my clothes, and didn't notice."
"Hide behind a tree or a rock, then." Arisawa replied. "Or hell, just stay in the distance and I'll come and get you if it turns out Ichigo knows something. If you're overly worried about too much about you coming out without a good reason, we could find some way to let that happened. What do you want?"
Well, thinking about it rationally, it would be more concerning if more people knew about her ESP without reason, then if she looked a little dirty. So it was a possibility, even if it complicated things. Perhaps it was worth considering?
It didn't take much to reach a conclusion, though.
[X] There wasn't much purpose to it. It'd be easier to be part of the conversation while the information is being explained firsthand.
[X] It was better to be safe than sorry. Asagami could wander around away from the conversation and wait for Arisawa to call her.
Fujino took a moment to look at Kurosaki, thinking it over, before she spoke.
"Do you know what time your brother usually gets home in the afternoon?" She asked.
There was a pause, before Karin replied. "Ever since school went on break, he's been staying out late at night most of the time. Inconsistent on when he gets back, but usually late enough that he just eats dinner and goes to bed. And then he leaves early in the morning as well, and I have no idea what he does all day."
"Hey, Karin." Arisawa said softly, as if trying not to be heard. "She can't see when you shake your head."
"O-Oh, um, my bad."
Asagami didn't comment on the exchange, instead thinking things over for a bit.
"So, if you were going to make him talk on your own, what would you try?" She asked.
Kurosaki took a moment to reply again. "Well, I don't want to cause a scene late at night and wake up Yuzu and goatface, so I suppose I'd try to catch him in the morning before he leaves and hope I can make him talk."
Fujino considered the answer for a moment before she continued. "Wouldn't the rest of your family overhear it if you had a conversation in the house? It might be harder to get answers out of him regarding the supernatural if people who don't know are around."
"I suppose." Kurosaki noted. "Maybe I could get him out of the house for it. He's been distant, but if I make something up about some delinquents chasing kids out of parks, I could talk him into following me there to give them a beating over it."
"This could work." Fujino mused. "Assuming he didn't just leave once he knew it was a trick, and you aren't overheard. Arisawa, do you think you could make him talk if you found him?"
"Probably." Arisawa replied. "If he's trying to keep me in the dark on the supernatural, I know enough to make that pointless, and he shouldn't have any other reason not to talk."
"It might be best if you were there, then." Asagami noted. "Kurosaki, I assume, doesn't know anything direct about the secrets her brother has been keeping? But Arisawa has an example to use for the memory loss, one she was there for first-hand, so she may have better luck in that regard."
"That could work." Kurosaki mused. "I'd need to make sure Yuzu didn't overhear and contradict the story, though. Maybe fill her in in advance that I'm getting Tatsuki to help yell at him for avoiding everyone."
"I'm assuming you'd be dragging him to the usual park, then?" Arisawa asked. "I could probably be there... About seven or so in the morning, if that's what you're doing."
"That should be early enough to stop Ichigo from leaving." Kurosaki noted.
"Should I be there?" Asagami asked. "I don't know him so I wouldn't be of any help in the conversation, but if he does know anything relevant, I would like to know."
"Sure, tag along." Arisawa replied. "You have ESP, so maybe if you're on hand, it'll be easier to get him to talk about supernatural stuff."
"I would prefer not to give a demonstration." Asagami interrupted. "Or let many more people know that I have supernatural powers, unless it was necessary."
"We could just lie and say you've had experience with the stuff happening right now." Arisawa pointed out.
Asagami took a moment to stifle the kneejerk reaction to decline that, and thought it through, for a moment. If Kurosaki Ichigo did know anything relevant to the fairies, memory consumption, or Misaya, then Fujino wanted to be there for the conversation. Actually being able to ask questions was too important to have Fujino just hide.
Besides, there was two possibilities here. That Kurosaki Ichigo was hiding something about the supernatural, or that he didn't know anything. Assuming the former, someone who was trying to keep their secret from spreading wouldn't spread more secrets. And in the case of the latter, then they wouldn't even get that far in the conversation in the first place.
"So, that's the plan then?" Kurosaki Karin asked. "Get Ichigo to the park and get him to talk? What's the plan for that?"
"Start by bringing up how he's avoiding everyone." Tatsuki began. "Move in to how he's been acting weird for a while. Then bring in the supernatural stuff somehow, then the memory eating fairies, then how he seemed to be remembering that one thing differently."
"I'll bring up the whole seeing ghosts thing." Karin offered. "And-"
"The what now thing?" Arisawa interrupted.
There was a moment of silence before Kurosaki continued. "...Ichigo and I have been able to see ghosts since forever. Didn't you hear?"
"I thought that was just a rumour." Arisawa replied. "I'd asked him about it before, when we were kids. After- What, did he just lie to my face about it? Why didn't you mention this before?"
"It's easier to pretend they don't exist." Kurosaki replied. "There's probably nothing good to come from paying attention to the dead."
"Well, it looks like he's been keeping that secret for a while." Grumbled Arisawa. "...Or he did tell me and some memory thing happened so I remember that differently."
"Or I remember it differently." Karin pointed out.
"It's probably simpler to assume the least complicated possibility." Asagami pointed out. "I don't see why someone would alter your memories to make you think someone was involved in the supernatural, and I don't think we have seen any memory changes that would change enough years of memory to be 'Since forever'."
"Yeah, sure, why not." Kurosaki replied. "Probably easier to think that."
"And besides, I think we have enough to work off of now." Asagami replied. "Kurosaki talks her brother into coming to the park with her, Arisawa and I find the two of you, and Arisawa questions him why he's been avoiding everyone. Kurosaki brings up the ghosts and Hollows, Arisawa can mention the difference in memory regarding that one classmate, and if it looks like he knows something after those two points but doesn't say anything, I can bring up the fairies and say that anything he does know about the memory loss may be of help resolving this situation."
"If we need to do anything else, then I suppose we'll figure it out when we get to it." Arisawa commented.
"Alright, then." Kurosaki sighed. "Drag Ichigo to the park, get him to spill, then you guys deal with it while I go and forget any of this ever happened."
"Oh, hold on a moment Karin." Arisawa interrupted. "The fairies' memory eating thing, they won't be able to do that to you if you take these."
There was a moment without any speech as Arisawa, presumably, passed Kurosaki some of the pills she had gotten from Urahara.
"The guy I mentioned earlier, who actually knows about magic stuff? Says if you take one of those every twenty-four hours, they can't get you."
"Thanks." Kurosaki noted. "Just to be clear, though, you said they only chase people who're looking into that girl from out of town?"
"Or to cover up any information about her." Asagami added in. "How many did you give her, Arisawa?"
"About a weeks worth." Arisawa replied. "The old man with the hat said it's safe to take more than on every twenty-four hours and it might be risky to not double up, so just let me know if you need more, I'll take you to the storekeeper to go get more."
"Thanks." Kurosaki replied. "I should be getting home now, then. Need to talk to Yuzu so she knows not to tip Ichigo off."
"See you tomorrow, then." Arisawa said.
"Bye." Kurosaki replied in turn. Asagami waved her hand, until she heard footsteps running off into the distance.
"Well, tomorrow it is, then." Arisawa noted. "Do you have any ideas for finding your friend in the meantime?"
"Not particularly." Asagami replied. "If the fairies are keeping everything about her covered up, then I don't expect just anyone on the street to be able to say much. Unless she bought food at a supermarket at some point and got caught on camera, but I doubt we'd be allowed to look into that."
"She's got to be staying somewhere, though." Arisawa mused to herself. "Maybe it would be worth it to look into all the hotels and motels, and see if she's there. Or if the receptionists have any records of her."
Asagami took a moment to think about that. "When I go back to the hotel tonight, I'll ask again if they've seen her. Maybe if I ask whoever is at the front desk if they have a record to make sure, it'll lead to somewhere. But I doubt it. If Misaya is running away from the fairies, then I don't think she'd want to put people at risk of them, and if she was running with the fairies, I don't think she would be increasing how much work they need to do to hide her."
There was silence for a moment, as Asagami tried to think of what else she could do.
Perhaps she could try to find where there was a lot of fairies, and assume Misaya was around there? But that assumed the fairies weren't just patrolling with instructions. It could work, but there was ways in which it could go wrong, as well.
"Oh, uh, Asagami? Sorry for letting Karin know about you. I know you said not to mention you, I just didn't think it through."
Oh, yes, that had happened. Fujino had been distracted, but now that she remembered it, perhaps she should speak on that matter.
"I would appreciate it if you put more effort into not mentioning me, in the future." Asagami told her. "I've gone through a lot of effort to keep my ESP hidden. I made the mistake of letting you know when I first arrived here and saved you from that Hollow, but this trip in general has already involved too many people finding out. When I go home, I don't want to have to worry about more and more people finding out here."
"Hey, it's fine." Arisawa replied. "Anyone who doesn't already know about the supernatural won't believe it anyway, so-"
That was not the kind of answer that Fujino was looking for.
"Arisawa." She interrupted, with a more stern tone. "Perhaps I was too lenient when I told you about it. Perhaps it has given you the wrong impression of how much I would prefer this stayed a secret. I want to live my life as a normal person, as much as I can under these circumstances. The more people who know about my ESP, the more chance there is that something could happen to ruin that for me."
"...Is it that much of a sore spot for you?" Arisawa asked.
Fujino nodded. "Before I came to Karakua, only one other person knew about this. Between you, Kurosaki, and everyone at the candy shop, that number has risen far more than I am comfortable with."
Fujino hoped that the stern tone she had taken would conceal that one white lie hidden in her words. One person before this adventure, if you discard Ryougi Shiki, Araya Souren, and Keita. But the core point of Fujino's argument remained the same. She had only shown her power to Risu before this, and now it was known to six other people.
"Alright, then." Arisawa replied. "I don't get it, but I understand. I'll try harder not to slip up again. Promise."
Asagami let out a breath she didn't realise she had been holding. "Apologies for being snappy, Arisawa. This trip has been a little stressful. I hope I didn't come across as too rude."
"It's fine, it's fine." Arisawa replied. "...You know, if you really don't want to take that risk, you could sit out the conversation with Ichigo tomorrow if you want. We could probably get answers out of him without you."
"That would be nice." Asagami mused. "But if he does know anything that could be relevant to the fairies, I would prefer to be able to question him on it."
"I could try to make sure for you first." Arisawa replied. "Like, at this point I'll be surprised if Ichigo isn't involved in something supernatural, but you could hide in a bush nearby and I'll talk to Ichigo to make sure he does know anything about memory consumption or anything."
Asagami frowned. "In a bush?"
"Is there a problem with hiding in a bush?" Arisawa asked.
"Wouldn't that be somewhat..." Fujino took a moment to try to fumble for the words. "Undignified?"
Arisawa barely stifled a chuckle, at that.
"If you find something amusing about the situation, I don't see it." Asagami frowned.
"Ah, nothing, don't worry about it." Arisawa replied.
Fujino decided to worry about it. "I feel like it'd draw too much attention if I got some leaves stuck to me, or dirt on my clothes, and didn't notice."
"Hide behind a tree or a rock, then." Arisawa replied. "Or hell, just stay in the distance and I'll come and get you if it turns out Ichigo knows something. If you're overly worried about too much about you coming out without a good reason, we could find some way to let that happened. What do you want?"
Well, thinking about it rationally, it would be more concerning if more people knew about her ESP without reason, then if she looked a little dirty. So it was a possibility, even if it complicated things. Perhaps it was worth considering?
It didn't take much to reach a conclusion, though.
[X] There wasn't much purpose to it. It'd be easier to be part of the conversation while the information is being explained firsthand.
[X] It was better to be safe than sorry. Asagami could wander around away from the conversation and wait for Arisawa to call her.
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