yogen | npc contact.2

He's... resting.

[Probably forever, if what Lucifer understands is correct.]

Unfortunately, what happened to Narumi is magical in nature. He's... alive, in the bodily sense of the word. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean much. If we can't figure out what's wrong, and how to undo the spell that was done...

[Then he's going to die. But Lucifer offers a very shaky smile.]

I have him under a stasis hex for now, so until then, he shouldn't deteriorate further...

But you'll be able to figure it out, won't you? You'll undo whatever happened to him, and you'll save him. I know you will!

[ He has to. He's Lucifer-senpai. There's nothing he can't do. ]

I will. I don't abandon the people I take under my wing.

[But that leads him into something else, and Lucifer's very weak smile is quick to falter and fall.]

Narumi was found roughly the same time Clamor was found. As I stated when I came in, Clamor... is already dead.

[He quite literally drags his hand down his face at that, eyes elsewhere.]

There's nothing I can do for him. He was found in the pool...

[ oooooooooohh everybody's banned from the pool from now on, stop taking the people Hikaru loves

Because it's that same numbness that washes over them when they hear Lucifer say that— it doesn't feel real, and as long as the tears don't spill from their eyes, they don't have to accept that it's real, that can't be real, it can't

a wall of flame, charred hands, the feeling of drowning

of everything breaking but without the release of an end

... ]

Why?

[Lucifer isn't a man who hugs, normally, but Hikaru deserves that much — so forgive him when he reaches out toward his friend and holds them much like a father would hold a child. He's exhausted, and perhaps it shows in the bags under his eyes, worse than they normally are.]

I don't know. I haven't figured that out.

[So many people loved Clamor, and to Lucifer, mortals have always been petty — pettier than demons, even, always killing without rhyme or reason, especially here. Such things might not have mattered to the Lucifer of ten or a hundred years ago, but they matter to the Lucifer standing here now, forlorn as he was the day Lilith passed on.]

It's cruel of me to ask this of you, and I'll give you as much time as you need to grieve — but I need help putting some pieces together if I'm to solve this. Do you think you can help?

[ Their hands find the back of Lucifer's shirt, hanging onto him more than they're hugging back, before it occurs to them that Lucifer most of all needs the support and they give him a tight squeeze, like they can physically hold him together when the other— or, at least they do— feels like falling apart. ]

Of course I'll help. [ said while still embracing Lucifer, it's okay, maybe they need this too and don't want to move for a bit. ] You don't even have to ask. I'll do everything I can to help you, you know that.

[Maybe they both need a big hug. Hikaru is only a kid, after all, however mature they are; kids need hugs. Lucifer totally does not need a hug but he's accepting one anyway, because Lucifer is a very strong man who does not get upset when his favourite people get hurt.]

This whole situation is cruel, but from what I can gather, whoever did this seems to be trying to frame you guys. ["You guys" aka his Darling Cultists, because Lucifer refuses to believe that someone within the cult would turn around and betray him like this.] Is there anyone you know outside of your group who you trust to borrow things from you guys, such as the black robes?

[ There's a little frown on their lips that they keep hidden against Lucifer's chest, but also, why would anybody try to frame them and their friends? As far as enemies go... they can't think of any that would hate them enough, but the group does have a bad rep just for being interested in what they're interested in. ]

...if it's something small, like herbs or candles, we never mind sharing them with people. But the robes are special... I can't speak for the other guys, but I think they'd say the same as me. I'd only give mine to you, or to ...to Clamor... if either of you asked.

[Ah.

The fire magic on the roof that day. The burnt body... the black robes wrapped around it...

Clamor wouldn't, but... that spell that Lucifer found on the 4th floor, lingering on Narumi's body... Dots are connecting.]

...that's what I thought. [Oh, Demon King, how the fuck does he explain this.] Listen to me. Both bodies — the burnt one and Clamor's — were discovered wrapped in those robes. If you're missing a couple, that's why. If anyone comes after you with the intent to get on you for something you didn't do, come get me immediately.

[~~like that ebalon kid who lucifer can't confront because it would cause a temporal anomaly, thus ending yogen where it stands~~]

May I ask when the last time you saw Narumi was? Do you have a date?

[You know, before he tries to piece together this whole thing verbally.]

[ The memory of billowing black rising from the bottom of the pool makes a little more sense with that knowledge, but why... Why why why... They immediately think of asking everybody they know for who is missing their robes, but wouldn't that just be Narumin and ...either whoever they saw floating in the pool, or the person who put them in there, and neither are identities Hikaru is particularly keen on learning.

But they swallow and nod because learning and knowing is important, comfort second, and they more than owe this to Clamor, and to Lucifer. ]

He's in another grade, so I don't see him as much as I do my friends in my year, but it couldn't have been more than a couple of days before. He and some other guys were having real bad migraines this week, so I went over and brought them popsicles. I think it was Tuesday, or Wednesday? He took a cherry one, and two orange ones, and I had some lemonade at his place before going home, and... uh... it needed more sugar, and...

[ How much detail does Lucifer need, they're trying to recall as much as possible just in case he needs a play by play ]

Okay, that's enough, that's fine. Thank you.

[They're a good kid, all he really needed was a date, though.

And he's, uh, sorry about the migraines, listen, Lucifer doesn't think before he does shit. So, the 14th or 15th, then, but that doesn't mean Narumi wasn't seen shortly before that either. Lucifer files that information away for later, though.]

When I was called to look at the magic circle that other students found, I faintly recognized it as something similar to a binding spell, though... it seemed to be trying to remove something instead of tether it, and it was a fairly awkward mix of the two.

[He pauses and thinks further, then, very carefully chooses his next words.]

...Thinking back, have you spoken to Clamor recently? Did he seem a bit off to you?

[Not Lucifer out here just now realizing that something might have been up that day on the roof, haha...]

[ There's a bit of a lost look on Hikaru's face at the mention of the binding spell— clearly not anything they've practiced before, and them and most of their friends know by now that if they want to do something, to ask Lucifer so he can teach them how to do it properly. ]

Not... really? We had cocoa the other day, actually. Me and him and Aira and Nene, and everything felt fine. But I don't know him as well as you do. If you felt that something was weird, trust that gut feeling. I trust you.

...right.

[How does he even say the words "I think Clamor might not have been Clamor actually" without causing further harm? Lucifer doesn't think there's a tactful way to approach this, and all he has to go off of are suspicions...

Yeah, okay, Hikaru, please mourn this in your own way. Telling them that there might be a case of possession or something going on here wouldn't be helpful.]

Sorry, [he lies through his teeth, faking a smile,] I thought briefly to myself that I wonder if Clamor knew he was being targeted, that's all. People act quite strangely if they're paranoid about something like that.

[It's a pretty weak lie, but.]

I apologise for dragging you into my investigations. You should be allowed to mourn without me impeding.

[ just use those words, let Hikaru have a murder arc too ]

Oh... No, you weren't impeding anything, Senpai. I don't... really know how to feel right now. Being able to help, even a little bit, makes me feel better. I'll probably cry tonight, when it's just me and my thoughts.

[If Hikaru ever has a murder arc, Lucifer will support them.]

It's understandable.

[They're young. They hopefully haven't experienced much loss, if any at all. Lucifer barely knows how to cope with loss either, truth be told — Lilith had been centuries ago, and many of the people Lucifer regularly interacted with back home are still alive. The one time Belphegor snapped and killed someone important to Lucifer a few years ago, that was all undone when Barbatos reset the timeline, so it doesn't count.

Ugh. What he wouldn't give for that conniving butler to reset this timeline.]

You know if you need something that I'm always here to listen to you. And... we'll keep our little club going in the meantime, just to keep the memory alive.

[ Maybe they already

anyways, it does make them feel better that they have Lucifer's support, even if they try hard to keep their worries to themselves unless explicitly asked about them. ]

I'm glad for that. Our club is one of the best things that happened to me, and I bet lots of the others will say the same! I've been able to meet a lot of good people, and that includes you, Senpai.

npc contact.2

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