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[heretic_blade]

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text, two days post reset.

[medicative]

Izo,

I wanted to check in and ask how you are doing. While this timeloop seems to have resolved most issues and injuries, it hasn't done that for all of them, so I was hoping you're well.

-Emily

[a little formal, she knows, but this was the first priority. her question can come second.]

[heretic_blade]

[ Boy, this is really, really formal. ]

im fine. did u need something or is that it?

[medicative]

I just wanted to check in.

But now that you mention it, I had another question I was considering. Not one that you need to immediately answer.

[one she wasn't going to bring up for another week, out of decorum, but hey, if he wants to know now.]

[heretic_blade]

well ask it already.

[medicative]

I want to learn how to defend myself, so that when something like the fields happens again, I can at least do something other than run. If you're willing to teach a beginner some of the basics, I can cook in return. A meal for a lesson, if that's a fair trade to you.

[Hibiki can teach her some, she knows, but they discussed this. a physical teacher would be needed eventually, no matter how much mental instruction the youkai gave. and, well, he was the first name to come to mind.]

[heretic_blade]

[ He's not much of a teacher but food is really good motivator. Plus he's already giving lessons to Naib with a much different reward. ]

hm...yeah. sounds fair enough. u know i aint gonna go easy on u, right?

[medicative]

I would be insulted if you did.

[heretic_blade]

thats what i figured, but i just wanted to give u a heads up before u got all bruised. dont want u yelling at me for it.

[medicative]

The first person a doctor learns how to treat is herself. Whatever happens, so be it. I won't complain.

[heretic_blade]

well good. then its a deal: self-defense for food. just lemme know when u wanna start. aint like im real busy most of the time.

ᴇᴍᴀɪʟ: 𝚜𝚒𝚡@𝚑𝚊𝚔𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚒.𝚌𝚘

[wray]

Izō. Did you accept the quest from the man called Takashi...?

[heretic_blade]

yeah, me and lalli did.

why? u take it, too?

[wray]

Yes.

Did you encounter anything strange?

[ cryptic, but he'd rather not be specific over the network. just in case. ]

[heretic_blade]

yeah i did. a couple of strange things.

[wray]

... Right.

I said I would share, if I come across anything else, so if you have time— let me know.

[heretic_blade]

i got time now. ill tell u what i saw, too.

apartments?

➠ action.

[wray]

Yes.

The alleyway nearby, if that's alright. Until then.

[ once izō arrives, he will find six right where he said he would be, if not a bit more out of sight from anyone else who happens to pass by. there are random cuts and bruises marring his pale skin, worn bandages peeking from underneath clothes, but otherwise, he looks relatively in one piece.

he's trying his best to not be too skittish — even though it's a tall order at this point. whatever happened up north is enough to spook him, it seems. ]

[heretic_blade]

[ Izō shows up not too much later. An appraising eye observes Six for a moment. No questions are asked about his appearance -- he also carries some concealed bruises and some not-so-concealed bite marks all over one of his forearms. The encounter he may not have been as dire, but it certainly wasn't pleasant. ]

There ya are...Didn't keep ya waitin' too long, did I?

[wray]

You didn't.

[ straight to the point, but it's better this way. both of them look like they've been through a Time so he can only wonder what izō might have encountered during. one last check to make sure there's no one else around and then he's ready to speak— ]

... Rokurou and I encountered the occultists, I think, when we tried looking for where the shrine could be.

[heretic_blade]

They fucked ya up pretty bad, huh?

[ He didn't need to say it. ]

Me and Lalli...Well, he went in some'a those noble houses lookin' for anythin' useful. I was outside an' this fuckin' crane appeared outta nowhere. Some kinda youkai...It attacked us both.

[ There's more to it than that, but he wants to hear what Six found first before he shares the important part. ]

[wray]

[ izō mentioning the crane brings curiousity to the rest of his expression, but it's quickly subdued when it's his turn to talk. ]

That's... [ when he starts to speak, his ears deflate slightly, as though he's not quite sure how to proceed. ] That's the strange part. My injuries are mostly from traps that I had to dismantle on our way further up north.

[ no amount of going over what happened is helping it make more sense. ]

They didn't hurt us at all. They wouldn't even try.

[heretic_blade]

[ Izō is confused by the admission. He cocks his head to the side, brow furrowed. ]

What...? Are ya fuckin' serious? Why th' hell not? Ya think they'd be after ya...

[wray]

[ the erune simply shakes his head, unable to offer a more definitive answer. ]

I'm not certain. They were more interested in taking our masks away from us but otherwise left us unharmed. [ the oni's mask is still looped by his hip, somehow more secured than before. ] I don't know what they're after at this point.

[ given the information izō gave him too— if the crane is controlled by the occultists, it just doesn't make any sense. ]

[heretic_blade]

Ain't th' youkai tied t' th' masks? Maybe that's what they're after.

[ He doesn't know for sure -- investigation is not his strong suit. He's not smart enough to make clear, concrete connections nor does he think deeply enough to draw deeper conclusions. ]

That crane appeared outta fuckin' nowhere after Lalli read somethin' and chased us into a house. We killed it an' a youkai, an old woman, appeared outta a closet. She wasn't hostile or anythin', she showed us some hidden shit in another house...Dunno what it means. Combs, some perfume, soap...but there wasn't a bath anywhere inside.

[ Izō shrugs. ]

Fuckin' weird.

[wray]

Yes, I believe this to be the case as well. But...

[ as far as the why's, he has no idea. he listens to what izō has to say about the crane in hopes that it might have a clue, or anything at all, that will shed further light on the strange situation he encountered. except all it does is make him cross his arms, ears tilting from side to side. ]

Did the crane have a pendant anywhere on its body? Similar to the ones we found on felled corpses.

[ if such a thing existed, then... were the occultists interested in attacking them through different means rather than directly? ]