![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
September mini-event pt 2
09/17 06:00
It's early Friday morning, the silence lifted but still a while before npc students will start coming to school. The door to the student store remains locked, despite always being propped open by a doorstop first thing in the morning, like clockwork. In the pool building, the lights automatically switch on for the day, illuminating the water below.
A large black shape floats in the middle of the pool, air trapped in the fabric wrapped and tangled around it.
A large black shape floats in the middle of the pool, air trapped in the fabric wrapped and tangled around it.
OOC
✽ Please use the toplevel below for investigations
✽ This mini event ties into last week's murder, which ICly occurred Sunday morning, and clues from both investigations in conjunction will help point to a culprit
✽ Please allow Wolfie to reply first
✽ This mini event ties into last week's murder, which ICly occurred Sunday morning, and clues from both investigations in conjunction will help point to a culprit
✽ Please allow Wolfie to reply first
no subject
... it's something he sees nearly every night he goes up to the roof, but it stuck out at him after the meeting recently--]
Uh... The only thing I can think about is the pocket rocks? I mean, besides the whole cult connections and all. They kinda reminded me of the ones up there. More than the ones Boss usually gives out, anyway.
[he doesn't know exactly if that's what amami's looking for, but it's what's similar between the two as far as immediate recalls go]
no subject
he places his attention on subaru now. )
Welcome! I'm glad you could make it.
( he bends down, picking up lily may from his shoes as he walks on over, and with kamo-kun in amami's arms, komaeda takes a sit beside him — it's a free spot now, he's going to take it, because this way he can look at everyone else than allow his eyes to fall on the shopkeeper. something about the arata family keeps him on his toes, and though he has nothing to do with this situation... it feels like he failed along the way. he doesn't allow the feeling to control all of his thoughts and actions because he told amami to take care of the shopkeeper anyway, a request that he trusted in the ultimate's care — there's a reason for all of this, and he'll listen... just like how saihara-kun is really good at that. )
Since we're all gathered here today... we should ask the important questions since Amami-kun is willing to speak with us, but that's true... I'm sure if our new visitor explains all that they've seen on the fourth floor, then maybe we can understand what's on the other side.
( re: cult connections because that clicks. it'd help considering komaeda and natsume only knows so much about the fourth floor, and with a gentle clap of his hands. )
All rise, Akehoshi-kun... please take the stage.
i think i got everything i've tripled checked it
the other side included.]
Well... When I went up there to help out, there were some similarities to the stuff you and me found too, Maddy. I'll try and keep it short, 'cause all of it's kind of a lot? This'll include Rumi-chan too, 'cause I know there's people here who didn't get to see him.
[he'd try and gesture with his hands, but he's definitely not going to do that. komaeda it's your time to realize subaru is a memory bank]
So, like, picture this. You're standing at the door. Ahead of you is a hallway, with a window and another door at the end. Also ahead of you is some blood off to the side closer to where you're standing than anything else, chalk-drawn circles further ahead, and a person in a black robe just sorta lying there past that. The circles were kinda sloppy? Messed up. Uh, like someone walked over 'em, maybe dragged... To the window, I think? I didn't get the best look at it, but that's what I remember. Anyway--
The person wasn't doing so hot in the first place, but he wasn't great when we got up there and definitely not when we eventually got down here. Yori-chan posted about it, that's the only reason I knew where to be, but that's Narumi Ito-- Rumi-chan. He had on the same robe as the first person, the sort that those [uh] interesting fellas wore, the cult kids.
[like they're just a club and not, like, really practicing, well that blows this out the water]
Anyway, the last thing's the blood. It wasn't too big? Like—
[he measures with his good hand, moving it back and forth for around if a little less than a foot]
It wasn't going anywhere, and it didn't look super fresh to me? But I didn't touch it or anything either. Kinda wish I had so I could tell you better. It also didn't... seem connected? To what happened? 'Cause it wasn't like, close to the circles at all. And that's the only blood that was there, too, it's why I asked you about your hand before, Ama-chan. [oh] There were a bunch a candles scattered around too, for their weird ritual thing I guess! They were all melty and put out. And a shiny thing over by the window, which Yori-chan found out Clamor-san's eyepiece.
[... there seems to be more he wants to say, but is hesitant for some reason. (he keeps flicking his gaze to natsume)]
no subject
...except he didn't; he heard the footsteps and thought of who they belonged to, and he turned none-too-quickly from setting things down when it was only subaru. natsume moves to the wall to lean against it, mulling over the conversation as it goes, subaru's words as they spill out like a fountain with a photographic memory—
he catches the other's gaze once and narrows his eyes at the hesitance. )
It does sound like they were performing some kind of rituAL. FrankLY, that's what I think was going on earlier this week at the pool buildING. Goto-kun couldn't confirm or deny if any of their members were involved that time—they think that none of the members would disrespect Lucifer-san so blatantly by using a robe to wrap a dead body in—but there's a very small pool of people outside of them who actually know how to properly utilize a magic circle and spell compoNENTS.
( ...an incredibly small pool. natsume watches subaru for a moment more, the way he's standing a little deliberately to hide something, and turns back to amami. the interrogation of his fellow idol can wait, but know it's happening buddy. )
The components they used for the first ONE, assuming I'm correct on that there was ONE, were lavender, chamomile, and pepperMINT. All of those can be located in the occult club's stores—the Gardening Club only grows two of them. ( he's a gardener, baby..... he's pedantic. ) They have various efFECTS, such as protection from evil spirits and negative energies and what have YOU.
( he glances at the sleeping shopkeeper, then back to amami. )
And together: for inducing SLEEP, one's third EYE... ( vague wave. ) Sleep is what the cult learned about THEM.
But magic circles are incredibly... finicky, let's SAY. If they're not done properLY, no amount of protection can help you from their consequenCES. ( he was lectured on this. and it's not that great to interrupt them mid-ritual either, but that's kind of obvious. ) —None of that is really neither here nor THERE. The point is there was a ritual DONE, or attempted at LEAST, similar to beFORE. There's no doubt that's what went on earlier in the WEEK, whether or not a member of the cult was the one enacting IT.
( connected to the body... natsume's thinking about it, he's thinking. doing it, maybe not, but being a victim of it...? hmmmmmmmm... )
no subject
( it's probably more detailed than he'd really thought about. the blood, for one, had been news to him when it was first brought up — carelessness, he guesses. )
Actually, now that you mention Ito-kun... ( thank you for the last name. ) I wonder if it might not be a good idea to check on him, too. Say that a circle was done wrong, or interrupted, or even both — and he was found on the scene. Whatever happened must not have been good, and whatever that circle was meant to do, it must have been something that took place inside of them.
( that's what meng yao had said earlier, and that's what amami is trusting in now. )
If we think about who would have access to how to do rituals like that, the pool of suspects for whose they were gets pretty narrow. After all, if the cult was acting as a group, I don't think they'd have left their mess behind today. At the same time, it seems like those hoods were pretty special to them — not the type of thing they'd lend out easily, yeah?
( hmmm... wonder what kind of outsider they would trust with those little black cloaks of theirs! )
no subject
Ebalon-kun allowed me a spellbook to look over that Saihara-kun found, an item that belonged to the...
( his eyes close as if he's hurt by the fact )
...late Clamor-san.
( yes, it's shocking that komaeda-arata didn't take any limbs, but that wasn't what this is about — it's more about finding how this case links together, and he sits with his legs pressed together, hands flat on the seat of his lap... dainty. as he tries to recall the information, he can feel the texture of the pages along his fingertips as he flipped through, one by one through the text to find something off or familiar. he already found out what he needed by opening the pda, but the spellbook was more fruitful. )
A few of the pages were bent, and gritty... as if it fell open outside, so if a body went through the window... I'd assume it was Clamor-san himself. That said, I feel as if someone got use out of said text... inside were various bookmarks, one that labeled for pyromancy —
( he doesn't turn his head, but his eyes glance at natsume, then down to his slim fingers as he recalls the fire that danged along his fingers, and there was a few notes that were labeled "for natsume," and so it makes sense since the other said that clamor taught him on the side. )
There was another bookmark that labeled the herbs that Sakasaki-kun listed: lavender, chamomile, and peppermint... those were circled, mind you. ...Another had sloppy artistry on what I would assume to be runes, and magic circles... and if it's Clamor-san's spellbook, that handwriting differed from most of the text... Ebalon-kun believes someone attempted to impersonate him...
( he hums, a hand coming to his chin as he taps a bent index finger against it in thought. )
...That said, this opens up a new path that someone was interested in these complex spells, and they learned said sleep inducing spells from the book. Whether it was Clamor-san, or the individual who took it... it's hard to rule out anything at the moment because that was in his handwriting, but the spell that wasn't his... had something to do with what Ebalon-kun called a "soul switching incubator spell," and we all know what incubator means, to have an enclosed apparatus providing a controlled environment for the care and protection of something premature... so as I looked at Ito-kun, he seemed to lack any life in his eyes, and... P-kun... underwent an exorcism thanks to Meng Yao and Sakasaki-kun's efforts, ( give them credit where credit is due ) and all that information came from the one book.
no subject
( amami kind of looks over like ? )
What did Sakasaki-kun do?
( this is meng yao's credit, don't you take that from him. )
no subject
...I mentioned the herbs are used to induce sleep and that I was performing a spell removal with Nagito-kun, RIGHT? It's easy to reverse things that like as long as you know the components used; I mixed the three herbs with some ash and cinqueFOIL, and...
( ... )
Well, seeing as this was more of a soul isSUE, I'm not sure it had any great effect anyWAY. ( a sad but credible truth, and more importantly: no matter how strange yogen in, sometimes a bunch of herbs and a prayer is just that. a bunch of herbs and a prayer. ) It isn't important at the moMENT.
no subject
no subject
( small blessings from the cat god. )
no subject
( ...
on one hand he knows he needs to focus, but on the other, he looks down to kamo-kun's resting face... then to natsume. )
You brought everything here too, didn't you? ( saw him set it down to the side. ) Maybe after I finish explaining...
( he'll strike a compromise, since it sounds like a pretty involved process. )
no subject
[bitch,
anyway. soul stuff above his head but as long as they're okay subaru can relax a little bit, though he's still mostly uncomfortable and thinking how this could happen again, if they're not careful]
So it's someone who's part of the cult, or at least someone they trust maybe? They always seemed kinda harmless to me, sorta weird but every school's got a group like that... Someone who can do magic, or learned how to...?
[...]
But like, badly if the circle was messed up in the first place. Clamor-san was up there when it happened, since Yori-chan found his monocle, but why? Natsume can probably say better than me, but he doesn't seem the type of person who'd that kinda stuff willy-nilly.
[... and how does ama-chan and npckun play into this...?]
no subject
( there's also the gardening club who can make half the herbs that was listed, but they were mostly used from the occult club, and so that narrows just a few suspects, or so komaeda thinks. he hums softly, looking towards natsume first, and then he glances at subaru who spoke up — )
We aren't asking the right questions, it seems he's giving input to make us... solve it ourselves, so the only people to blame is...
( them, because if they look at how amami presents the case, it's like he too is trying to figure out whats going on, and not applying himself in the story in anyway. komaeda won't directly call him out, but it's subtle enough. )
You said there was blood... unknown if it was fresh, hm... Amami-kun, your hand... the right, it's been fine every day I've seen you... but with a gauze like that, can we see what it looks like underneath — if our dear shopkeeper has went through an exorcism, and the fourth floor is rituals... they were up there, and could that be where you found them? ...They can't move, after all.
no subject
( souls and the shopkeep, clamor... his spellbook and a soul incubation spell, someone impersonating... but what would they need to impersonate clamor for? he's a nice guy--ask him and he'll probably lend you anything, and the same for lucifer...
the little shopkeeper hadn't seem in poor spirits, so this turn of events is recent. amami's new injury and theirs too are probably a result of this morning, but...
hmm. )
Baru-kun's right that Master Clamor isn't the kind of person to teach or enact that type of thing without good reaSON, so either someone gave him a very good one and abused his TRUST... Or he hasn't been himself all WEEK.
( either is probable, he guesses. what's some soul swapping between friends. ah, he wishes he could've seen these diagrams himself, but--
he looks at komaeda, thinking on the question, and sure. okay. that's a good one. )
...Amami-kun, I'd like to know if you found Mr. Shopkeeper up there TOO. It'll help confirm a thought of MINE.
( he just doesn't like to talk without being a little more certain. )
no subject
( which is really just an excuse because his hands are too full to re-wrap the gauze if he pulls it off. he'll do it if y'all fix him up again but, god. sighs again. alright, back on track. )
You guys have all the pieces, and I'm sure you're getting the idea by now. I mean, I don't think Clamor'd lend out his spellbook for someone else to write in any easier than the cult would lend out their hoods to wear, and you have to admit he's been acting kind of... ( or, well, hindsight at least tends to be 20/20. ) After what Sakasaki-kun told us before, we should all know how dangerous it is for someone to act out of character around here.
( he lets that sit for a moment.
... )
So now that you know who was responsible for both scenes, the answer is yes. They... did also get wrapped up in this.
( and for the record he's looking pretty unfortunate again, as the topic comes back around to this. more miserable than angry though. )
It's not their fault though. It was just bad luck, and that's why I'd appreciate if you were willing to give reversing that sleeping spell another try after this.
no subject
subaru didn't, but that's not important. he was told. pleased to be on the right track, but speaking of tell--]
Of course he will! Natsume's a good person, he wouldn't leave someone alone if they needed his help — or if someone asked for it! So you don't gotta worry at all, as long as he's got what he needs he'll do it!
[he knows natsume'll be mad for speaking up on his behalf, but it's very much immediate and confident]
no subject
...I'll do it again, YES. I'm a magician--we're bound to help those in NEED. ( mage status becoming more and more real each day. ) A shame the interloper didn't know that Master Clamor isn't overly skilled in fire maGIC. He can do IT, but it takes a lot out of HIM.
( or... no, it isn't that big of a secret-- natsume pauses, staring at his herbs. )
...Except that's obvious if you spend more than ten seconds watching HIM. The prime time to do anything regarding him would be when he's WEAK. ( ffff ) If he weren't taken over by someone else before the first inciDENT, he'd certainly be so after IT.
( hence impersonation... because clamor hadn't Not acted like himself in their lesson--patient and easy to learn from as ever.
...hikaru said they didn't think anyone from the cult would do it, but natsume can't think of anyone from the club who would. a lot of things point to someone, but why would that someone then agree to assist them? ...
well, the senpai in the cult might want to try. narumi ito... and there's someone out there who can mess with souls already... hmmmmmmmmmmmm
)
no subject
( otherwise, he's no mind-reader. but anyway, to the matter at hand again: )
I'll be honest, I don't actually know too much more than what you've already worked out. If you want my opinion, Clamor wouldn't hurt a fly if he could help it, and the person who took his place was pretty fond of fire magic — but that's beginner's stuff, so I guess it makes sense. In the end, I'd try not to pin anything on him if we can help it.
( certainly does take a lot out of you though, huh.
... )
Anyway, that's what I know on that. I just wanted to make sure there weren't any misunderstandings when I started explaining what happened to you guys. He was a good guy, so I'm sure there's no shortage of people who'll be pretty upset over what happened last night.
( y'all see lucy during the mission? amami does not like that knowledge right now. )
no subject
Well, we've more or less cleared our list of susPECTS. ( or natsume has. let him light a candle with some fire magic, i'm not doing anything fancy this time i'm mobilebound. ) Except for the body discovered at the scene of the second incident, of COURSE. Unless anyone has any other bright iDEAS, we should see to Narumi Ito-senpai.
( when he awakes? or we find his soul? whatever. natsume has mentally cleared everyone but him of suspicion, he will happily tell you his thoughts if you ask but otherwise he thinks everyone is on the same page as him considering what they've uncovered in this talk. )
no subject
but maybe that's something they'll have to ask the shopkeep when they wake, or narumi. subaru shifts on his feet, flexing his hand against his arm reflexively and inhaling sharply-- nnnnn]
No, yeah, let's. They, uh... I think they were gonna move him over to the dorms, so... He oughta be over there somewhere. But like I said, he wasn't looking great...
[... wonder if helping one soul helped the other, or what
but anyway. he doesn't want to risk natsume seeing his hurt hand so he's gonna, start turning away, feel free to call him out,]
I think I'll go on ahead. ☆
no subject
Keep your mouths closed, we don't have to think about some hopeless husk... ( I'M SORRY SEXY, KOMAEDA WILL CHANGE HIS TUNE WHEN HE SEES HOW BIG YOUR LEGS ARE ) not when Amami-kun has to explain things more indepth, ( and hearing that subaru is trying to leave? grrrr... ) stay here, Akehoshi-kun, you can't miss such a dazzling display of hope... I want you to witness it as well.
( do not ruin his yogenking moment. )
How do you feel, Amami-kun, because you were a witness to last night... I understand a lot is riding on your shoulders, especially if you regarded him as a... ( difficult, hesitant word: ) ...friend.
( he claps his hands together, figuring that it must be a shame to call someone with a hope so weak a friend, but it must be because the ultimates pity half the people here. )
How familiar are you with that imposter's fire magic, you must have seen it for yourself! Did they use it up close and personal...
( he lifts a hand to encourage the idle chit-chat since they're here anyway. ) I'm sure the experience must have been hopeful, using everything in your ability to keep our shopkeeper safe and bring them out of harm's way, and here we are trying to remedy the problem...
( talking as if he doesn't know amami had the pda on him, to get that means he would have to take it off the corpse, and that's...
had he left that information with noah, they probably wouldn't have gotten this far in the explanation. hm... it's like a buffet here, good hope on both ends, but which is stronger? )
I can only expect the best from an Ultimate, you did what you had to do... ( he looks at him, smiling softly. ) We'll all get through this together.
no subject
... ... ... no he wants to be closer to keigo actually, he'll just. do what he can to remain out of natsume's immediate sight as long as possible and go to sit on the bedside closer to the shopkeep, while komaeda's just
doin' his hope thing. don't mind him]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
no subject
no subject
(no subject)
(no subject)