Logs: Smoke On The Water
(((Takahisa Kandori poses.)))
Takahisa Kandori is sitting at the closest thing to a crossroads for all Japan. He's brokered a few deals by this fountain, found out much - and whenever something doesn't feel quite "right" with his world, he sits here until he understands it.
Guido knows that something is subtly wrong with the universe, he even knows some of the details, but telling would be unfortunate because it would make people behave other than naturally, and their natural behavior is very interesting. He has a sword laid across his lap, but in any case the fountains are mostly unpopulated tonight. This is a place to meet. Only the very strong of will can stay here when they aren't here for a purpose. Guido is firm enough of purpose to resist the power of a theoretical stream of influence moving people here, and then away.
The man, as always, is at ease. One hand lays languidly on the sword hilt. The other holds a can of soda. The outside says "Argilla, Blackberry Bring Your Grandparents Back To Life Flavor". Rumor is a powerful thing.
The air around him is a little hazy, and the square is slightly foggy, but peaceful. There are other benches near his, three, in a circle, to be exact. Guido has a briefcase. In the fountain, in front of him, strange lights dance. Occasionally, something pokes its head above the water and waves.
There is a small black box under Guido's seat, beeping erratically. His eyes are closed, but he sets down his can precisely and seems very aware of the air and the movement of light in front of him.
There is no hostility, there's not even much darkness - Kandori's destructive power is sheathed, like his blade. But he can feel something approaching.
(((Shiori Hibiki poses.)))
Something about all of this was weird. Shiori couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there it was.
It had just been a feeling, of something being subtly wrong about... well, everything. The whole world. Like she had woken up in a different body than the one she had been used to, and the world had shifted into something just very slightly out of tune.
Or it could just be her imagination.
Her lessons with Fuuka had been progressing quite well, and Shiori could just about sense the variations in what she persisted in thinking as the tapestry of the world; the symphony of sounds and rumors that made her at least a passable spotter. This could have been the reason behind the... feelings of weirdness.
Shiori needed to think. She needed to walk around, to try to work things out.
But this was a dangerous time, and SEES command had ordered everyone to have backup wherever they went. So Shiori had asked the closest SEES person she could find in the dorm to accompany her, all the way to... well, Shiori's wanderings were fairly erratic, what with the lack of a sense of direction, and they had ended up in Okina. Like a moth to a flame, Shiori inadvertently gravitated towards the faint but distinct magic of the fountain.
Shiori wasn't sure what to think of Hitoshi. Seemed like a nice enough person. He was some sort of author, wasn't he? Maybe they'd get to know each other better on this trip.
Someone was already there. Kandori had never registered as more than a vanilla human to Shiori, but the sword, the looks, and the infuriatingly languid pose were a dead giveaway. Shiori simply stopped in her tracks and stared, not quite realizing that Kandori could probably see her just as easily.
(((Hitoshi Taniguchi poses.)))
A lot of things were going over Hitoshi's head right now. Memories were forgotten, time that he had spent in Port Island completely altered and his life completely changed by the slow unraveling of that tapestry of time. Yuuka was no longer central in his life, Akatsuki's relationship with him was tense, and he barely -knew- Hinata Itoh -- except for the fact she was a missing member, and the fact they needed to find her.
So, with the orders of pairing up, and having been asked by someone relatively nice enough - Shiori - Hitoshi had set out with her after changing his clothes. He's wearing his typical red armband and the blue vest... hands tucked in his pockets. No Evoker is visible.
That's because, in this time flow, Hitoshi didn't -need- an Evoker.
With his relationship with Yuuka strained by the lack of events not happening, his outlook on things had changed, too. When Shiori had asked him to come out with her, he had decided to, for two reasons: As a member of SEES, he was obligated to. Secondly, he wanted to get to know her better. However, his confidence level nowhere near where it was before the changes... well. He had been mostly silent.
As they walked along and Shiori came to a stop in front of him, he had bumped into her with his shoulder, giving a bit of a grunt. "Hibiki-san," he whispers lightly, sighing as he looks toward her, not noticing... "Wha--"
His eyes then follow her line of sight... and he tilts his head. Huh.
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
"This must be around the Okina City fountain area."
Nose deep in a local map, Yoh Yamagatani seems to speak to himself, as he often does. Eyes peering over the edge of the map, and listening to his surroundings, the boy appears as a common tourist, despite being living close by in Lunarvale. This is the first time he has traveled this far from home in this direction, which makes it all the more adventurous. Whilst taking in the surroundings, peaceful thoughts seem to come to mind, as the sound of running water comes into earshot.
As Yoh trots down the sidewalk, he can't help but wonder how transferring to a new school will play out in the end. Making new friends was difficult, but not impossible. He was more worried about grades and transcripts making the conversion okay. St. Hermelin seemed like a good school, he only hoped that it was as good as his mother said it was.
As the fountain came into sight, another thing seemed to cross the boy's mind... why was he out, this far away from home, this late? Sure, he stayed until around this time at the Sun Mall talking with new acquaintances like Reki and Masumi, but that was right near his house. Maybe he was just feeling bold? The answer couldn't be found. Shrugging it off, He began approaching the fountain. Though, coming closer, he spied a figure resting at the edge...
(((Takahisa Kandori poses.)))
Takahisa Kandori gestures the two SEES operatives forward. He doesn't need to make any remarks about his awareness of their presence, or about what kind of chance they stand in any attempt at a sudden, rutting, violent confrontation. The languidness of his hand gestures says a lot about pointlessness, and power. But he has at least some respect for those incoming, because he turns his head to look at them out of closed eyes, with a smile on his face. It's the same amiable, slightly sarcastic smile he has for most people.
The sword is taken out of his lap and put under the seat. This renders him completely harmless, right?
He doesn't speak, yet. Just staring into the water like some eerie oracle, Kandori gestures. Something glistening flows from the fountain and into his hand - some mote of magic or psyche made briefly manifest, then extinguished again.
He reaches aside, opens the briefcase. Inside are many file folders - and what appear to be five bento boxes, kept warm by the moistened leather. His voice echoes then, as he gestures to the other 3 benches set up within arm's reach of his, apparently moved there for his purposes.
The voice is calm, carrying to all present. "Come have a seat." The voice echoes much longer than it seems it should.
(((Shiori Hibiki poses.)))
Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), in this time line, due to the lack of the very personal bogeyman that Tomomi had been, as well as Midori not being a Shadow-Possessed at large, Shiori had simply brushed off the large British detective asking desperately for information on the Dark Hour. She had not revealed the truth about Persona to him, thus not yet alienating herself from SEES command. She had not participated in the rescue from his TV World dungeon, and she had not been trapped in the TV World herself due to that event.
Thus, Shiori still had her Evoker, tucked inside the handmade pouch she had made for that purpose. (And yet her appearance was unchanged; apparently even after losing her Evoker in the original time line, Shiori had still worn the pouch everywhere she went, out of habit.)
And because Shiori had not had the chance to confront her True Self, she was still timid and nervous, rather than impulsively crazed and nervous.
She crept forward hesitantly, keeping a wide berth from Kandori. Every now and again, she glanced at Hitoshi, as though waiting for him to take the lead.
"Um," she said quietly. "Good evening, Kandori-san."
(((Hitoshi Taniguchi poses.)))
... "Kandori-san." Hitoshi's voice is calm, cool, as he speaks the name.
The name rang bells to Hitoshi. Some of the latest reports, for example, had been on Kandori specifically. He was powerful. A Key Player, as it were, in the New World Order. Not to be taken lightly, not to be underestimated. And most importantly...
Not to be entirely trusted.
"Hibiki-san," he whispers quietly, reaching out as she begins to place a hand on her shoulder... and as she had hoped, he steps forward, letting the hand drop quietly.
"Interesting to find you here, Kandori-san," he says, politely, plastering the most complacent face he can on himself. "Nice night for a bit of an outing?..."
The invitation to come have a seat is quietly glazed over, as well, as he slowly approaches. "We'll... stand, if that's okay with you. Not to be rude."
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
As Yoh approaches the fountain, his walking slows down. The single figure at the fountain has turned into three, the two extra approaching from a different direction. "Odd. Probably friends meeting up," He says under his breath, once more to himself.
Attempting to keep out of others' business, the boy approaches the fountain, opposite to the side of the others, though they clearly were still in sight. The waters however, partially drowned out their voices, save for the Kandori, whose voice seemed... strangely clear. While not wanting to disturb the others, he knew his mother would enjoy this sight, and decides to snap a photo with a camera he pulls out of his pocket. The flash being unusually bright, considering the time.
Yoh began to look around, noticing the gardening and nearby structures. Something felt out of place here, though it was probably odd decor arrangement. He wasn't known for detecting subtleties of any kind.
(((Takahisa Kandori poses.)))
"You will learn something if you sit, people think less well if their buttocks are not in contact with something. That one is fact. It is not your head you scratch right before you get a good idea." Kandori does not elaborate, but seems to be serious. Nonetheless, he takes some of his cooking out of his box. "Tell me, young dogs of Kirijo - guardians of Tartarus and plumbers of its secrets. Do you remember a robot buried in sand? I am having trouble keeping track of who knows what. Do you have questions?"
Rumors of Kandori's nature and skill do travel ahead of him, and right now he's in a talkative mood. For, while Hitoshi's appraisal is accurate, there's one other well known fact about Guido. A very well known fact indeed...
"It is a cold night, and the old monsters are walking the world." Kandori's eyes open then, to reveal that they are entirely black within, perhaps seeing some vista other than the one those present are.
"You surely have heard that knowledge is power? That's not true, not all of the time. But right now, knowledge is everything. Because the power you oppose takes knowledge away."
Kandori's eyes remain resolutely dim as he smiles from his seat on a comfortable bench. "The tale is that I charge a steep price for information, even more for my service, and this is true. But when it pleases me - and when I am insulted as I am now, by one of the powers that manipulates the world - I offer discounts. Rather than charging you - a truth for a truth- I invite you to eat, and to ask of me what you will. If your questions are polite and you have the time to sit and tell me of the day, you will gain something - maybe a little peace of mind."
Yoh's photo flashes, Kandori looks up with a faint smile even as the flash makes the air around him sizzle with liquid darkness, shielding him from bright light. Kandori holds up two bento boxes, inviting the SEES operatives. His motives are probably unguessable, but he seems amused.
(((Shiori Hibiki poses.)))
Shiori opened her mouth, shut it, and looked puzzled.
"How will we know you'll tell us the truth?" she blurted out, without any challenge. Simply a request for information, tinged with obvious curiosity and willingness to listen. Apparently embarrassed by her outburst, she glanced at Hitoshi again, partly as apology, and again to request guidance and leadership.
Kandori's offer for essentially free information rattled her; she knew that Kandori was supposed to be one of the people she should be Very Careful of, according to SEES reports. Then again, Bebe was one of her few friends in school, after all, and he was pretty proudly a follower of Kandori's ideals, wasn't he? Surely Kandori wasn't so bad.
And those bento boxes looked very appetizing...
Shiori's stomach grumbled, and she blushed deeply. She took an unconscious step forward...
The sudden flash of light, and Kandori's nonchalant summoning of the darkness to block the glare, caused Shiori to vanish from where she had been standing, to reappear close behind Hitoshi, clutching his arm tightly in panic, whimpering quietly. Warily, she peeked out from behind him.
(((Hitoshi Taniguchi poses.)))
Dogs of Kirijo. Guardians of Tartarus. Hmph.
"I... vaguely remember this robot you're talking about," Hitoshi remarks quietly. "Her name is Metis."
Attributing a gender to a non-living object? Hitoshi tilts his head a little bit, glancing toward Shiori quietly as she hovers at his side. "Hold on," he whispers toward her, before turning his head back toward Kandori, tilting his head again, listening to Kandori's quiet ramblings. Or, are they really ramblings? Perhaps the writer could understand his flowery wording just a little bit.
"The power we oppose." He tilts his head a little bit to the opposite side "The only thing that opposes knowledge is... well, our actions. The actions of people in the flow of time."
Of course, Hitoshi is oblivious to what he just said. He glossed over the point, in a way. But, it'll be something Kandori can latch onto! And then, his attention is drawn toward the flash. And his eyes go that way, his body turning, even as Shiori shuffles behind him to take refuge...
Which, in itself, was kind of cute and funny looking. Sort of, in an odd way...
"On second thought, perhaps we'll... erm. Join you, Kandori-san." At which point, a hand is lifted to Shiori's to remove her hand from his arm, looking to her quietly and nodding a little... before moving to the bench and accepting the bento offered quietly.
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
Looking through his camera, as he took the picture, Yoh saw what seemed to be sudden movement and altering colors through the fountain. He couldn't tell what exactly happened due to seeing it through the streaming water, he could only guess that the flash on the camera startled the three on the other side. He felt bad, after all, something like that happening without warning that dark, would probably startle most people. He was about to head on his way when it happened.
Food. He smelled food. Good food at that.
Instantly the boy's stomach went off. He remembered he hadn't eaten in hours, being to distracted with learning the area. It was then decided the next course of action. He had to apologize for startling the crew around the other side of the fount, as well as... ask where the food was obtained. The latter probably playing a larger part. Yoh put his camera away, and began to walk around the edge of the fountain, coming into view of what appears to be two teenagers and a middle aged man. 'Sounds like some sort of business meeting. Hopefully I won't disturb them too much,' He ponders, his stomach roaring at him once more as he came around.
Waiting for a moment between the exchange of words, he interjects. "H-hello," his voice cracking for a moment. "Might I ask where you got that meal from? I haven't eaten in a while, and need to find a restaurant or something." He keeps a courteous smile on his face, not wanting to pose too much trouble to the group.
(((Takahisa Kandori poses.)))
"Hold, Hibiki." comes Kandori's remonstrance, but too late. He saw the signs, the girl tensed like a spring. He sees it happen, then shrugs and lets it happen. Time to speak. He's not purposely annoying or infuriating or confusing, Guido just thinks to himself that people should exercise their brains. He sees a lot of atrophied ones. Some in cellars at midnight. This thought leaves.
He then considers the question, and his eyes close.
"You will know that I'll tell you the truth because I don't lie. I thought you all knew that? Don't you people talk to one another? I will give you the truths you expect, and some you'd rather not hear. Because there is such a thing as comportment, and style. And because only the truth can save you or damn you. And that was an impertinent question, Hibiki-chan." Kandori opens his eye. Did he wink?
Maybe.
"How will you know anyone will tell you the truth? Trust has to go both ways, but I suppose the way you know - is by taking a leap of faith, and seeing if you can fly. Or if I can catch you. If I do lie, and you are clever enough to see through it, you've gained something. If I do not lie, you have gained something. As to why I would engage in such a game, and what I get out of it - for I knew that would be your next question - the answer is that I gain by the things you ask me. I learn from observing you. If you are good and you see something I do which tells you something - imagine how much I see in you. I learn because you spend time in my company, I learn things to my advantage. This is not usually the deal. Usually I make you tell me three truths before I will tell you one. Tonight is different."
Kandori reaches out, holding a bento box in each hand. A tiny whirlwind projects from under his hand and "wafts" the lacquered shokado bento boxes - wood boxes with a fine finish and a delicious smell coming from inside - onto the benches his companions might take. One of the other benches has a bento for someone to open - inviting, full of possibility, closed but delicious in scent and coming from a man whose culinary skills are as well known as his genius for inventive cunning and cruelty.
Takahisa Kandori speaks again, and once more his voice projects well - but that probably has more to do with his being a frequent public speaker than anything else. "Sit, and partake with us. This is food of my own making. Each meal has a story, my personal cookbook was recently stolen, but I remember these recipes at least. I find cooking relaxing, and would value another opinion." Once Kandori has invited Yoh to a seat, he seems to direct his attention back to the other two, letting the boy listen in without complaining, and partake of a bento. When Kandori's voice rises, the shadows seem to flee and suppurate in response, as though he were stirring the darkness with his voice, or it was meandering around like a playful puppy at the voice of its master.
"The question is, and this is the question that starts us off - when the darkness calls your name, will you answer back?"
Guido's smile hasn't changed throughout. He lifts up his own bento, and unfolds the wooden tray. Inside are chopsticks. "Each is different."
Inside his are western-style caramel pastry puffs and sweet rice candies organized into the shape of Link's sword on a black field of sweet seaweed mochi with cherry filling. "You must share to get the whole communal meal experience. Now, sit down. I shall not bite. I have a perfectly good lunch here."
There are more rumors and secrets about Kandori than people know - but along with "he tells the truth", there is "He is a lonely insomniac sometimes.", and tonight is such a night. The man niggles at problems, and tonight he is solving one that has offended him. Fate should know better than to fence with Guido "BadMutha" Kandori.
From the briefcase, a thermos is produced and hot, sweet herbal tea poured into small ceramic mugs as insulator against any chill on this night.
(((Shiori Hibiki poses.)))
Shiori carefully sat down on the edge of the bench, maintaining some distance from Kandori. It looked like she was doing so out of habit more than actual wariness; keep a distance from people you don't know very well. Personal space and all that.
"I'm sorry," she said, accepting the bento with ill-disguised eagerness. "I didn't mean to- I'm sorry. I know you don't usually lie, Kandori-san, but, um, it's just, er..." She trailed off, and stared down at the bento.
The only thing Shiori remembered of the robot were the reports from SEES calling her "Metis", and Shiori's initial impressions that the robot's resonance had felt a great deal like Aigis's, which was why Shiori had assumed "robot" in the first place.
"I don't know the details," she said to Kandori, "since, um, I'm not really all that close with, er, the senpais in SEES. I just know that, um... something was found. I think. Maybe."
She stared at Yoh warily, but shuffled over slightly to make some room for him on the bench. "Um, good evening," she greeted him. "I, um." She glanced at Hitoshi again. "It's a nice night out, isn't it?"
(((Hitoshi Taniguchi poses.)))
Hitoshi just sort of blankly looks to Kandori, his head tilted.
Yeah, confusion reigns.
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
Slightly blushing from embarrassment, Yoh approaches the seat. He can't help but feel like he is cutting in on something important, and rubs the back of his neck. He bows politely to Shiori, and takes a seat next to her. He was about to give a greeting to the group, but was then presented the precious sustenance. "Oh wow, th-thank you! Remind me to pay you for the wonderful meal!" He says, bowing twice to Kandori. "Oh, don't mind me, I was just taking in the sights, hopefully I am not interrupting your meeting. It is rather lovely around here."
Almost immediately following that, the bento is attacked. While Yoh tries to stay polite, he does lack... social grace, for the lack of a better term.
At the sound of Shiori's greeting, he turns toward her, a loose granule of rice stuck to his cheek. Not that he minded, it would be eaten eventually as well. "It is! I am trying to learn this area, though I almost got lost a few times," the boy said as he waved a now crumpled map for a moment. "Trying to find places of interest, and fun things to do." Suddenly, something occurred to him.
He had barged into a group, began eating their food, and didn't even introduce himself! He immediately puts down the chopsticks and speaks. "How rude of me! I am so sorry. My name is Yoh. Yoh Yamagatani."
(((Takahisa Kandori poses.)))
Shiori's bento contains a large shaped bowl of strawberry ice cream kept cold by the container with two black cherry pastries for the eyes and a red quarter piece of candied apple for a mouth. It has two red sweet bean paste mocchis for feet. It's Kirby. Around kirby is white rice with a bit of salt and butter, and a sauce made of soy and bay leaves on the side for dipping the few pieces of grilled chicken - shaped like stars and moons and spread around him. "I made them for the youngest at the castle, most were amused by them. The chicken is light teriyaki on the stars and sweet-and-sour on the moons. Let me know what you think."
Hitoshi's container has an assortment of jellied squares and red-sauce pork mixed in among a segregated dessert container. The pork squares and brown nut-jelly paste make Mario. He is standing against a green field of sweetened seaweed-and-sushi which makes it look like he's jumping against the sky in world 5 (or was it 6?), there are two white fluffy clouds on this background, one a kind of bastardized mocchi filled with caramel, the other filled with hot grilled steak, in deference to Inaba.
Yoh's meal contains Pyramid Head. The sword is a piece of shaped salmon with realistic red sauce made of lemon and herbs with a hint of tomato adorning the blade. The head is an apple turnover in the right colors. The body is positioned pieces of grilled fish. The mannequin it is impaling is made of grilled steak. The whole thing is surrounded by wild rice and herbs with pickled onions and pickled calamari for dismembered body parts.
The man is an artist and answers no further questions for a moment or two, allowing for frenzied mastication. He does add one thing: "No matter what you do, if you want questions answered, it pays to ask over a meal, and it helps to pay gratitude forward, and hard work gets you far, as it did with these." comes Guido's apparent non-sequitir comments as he eats his sword-food slowly. He is watching the others closely, carefully, prepared for direct questioning as he reclines languidly on the bench. The lights playing in the fountain would by now be clearly visible to Hitoshi.
No, wait, he says other things: "Paying me is wholly unnecessary, but the offer is polite and appreciated. I am Takahisa Kandori, Yamagatani-chan. And you are welcome to stay a while." Kandori wonders privately how developed Shiori's spotting talent is, but says nothing about destiny or fate.
Kandori's chopsticks move lightning fast, spearing the salted pretzel "pommel" of his swordmeal. Then he waits for something more to be said, asked, or enjoyed. He is amused now, and less lonely. Even Guido can be lonely.
(((Shiori Hibiki poses.)))
Shiori blinked, slowly.
"... pleased to meet you, Yamagatani-san," she said distantly. "Um. Shiori Hibiki. From Port Island, Gekkoukan first-year." Why had the name "Yoh" sent a strange pang through her mind? She'd never heard of it before.
... had she?
In any case, she'd certainly not met Yoh Yamagatani before, and with a polite bob of her head in greeting, she turned back to her bento, trying to shake off the feeling that Something Was Wrong.
It took a while before the bento art registered with her, upon which she snapped her head up to stare at Kandori.
"You... made this yourself, Kandori-san?" She carefully picked at the bento, trying not to disturb Kirby. "It's... it's good. It's really good. Thank you for the meal." Now that she was filling her stomach with good food, Shiori seemed more relaxed.
(Why did the knowledge that Kandori made good food for the children in KNOWS make her so happy?)
"I admit that I wasn't, um, expecting you to be here, Kandori-san," Shiori said conversationally, daintily eating her food. "I was, er, bored. So to speak. Taniguchi-san was nice enough to accompany me, since it's not good for, er, for a girl to be out alone at night. Um."
Shiori was also eating the chicken teriyaki with no signs of discomfort, which would probably hint to anyone with knowledge of the different time lines that in this one, her spotter abilities were significantly less sensitive.
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
It wasn't often that Yoh partook of such good food. His mother was a decent cook, but this good? That was debatable. For a moment, the boy put down the bento and politely bowed to both people introducing him. "It is nice to meet you, Kandori-san, Hibiki-san." Yoh promptly picked the bento back up and began eating again.
'What an odd business meeting,' is all that ran through Yoh's mind. It was after all, strange. Meeting at this time of night, just to enjoy a bento meal and exchange strange questions. Not that he had room to talk mind you, seeing as his face was half buried in one.
As he hears Shiori's mention of whether the bento was home made or not, it caught his attention, looking up to listen intently. While the meeting may not involve him, gleaming some sort of tiny cooking advice or suggestion may help, as he isn't the best cook out there, the bentos presented being solid evidence.
(((Takahisa Kandori poses.)))
Kandori interjects. "Hibiki, you could blow up a building by thinking it. Girl or not, you are very safe - and very old fashioned, clearly" Kandori says, deadpan with a wink. He then adds: "I enjoy the challenge. It takes some time to get right, but once you learn, it's easy. I had a little help - the ice cream is hard to hand-churn so I have the kitchens send some up. And the rice is not something I grew myself." Tapping his lips with one finger on a delicate, nimble hand, Guido says: "There are doors. There are doors that belong to people, and they're important. Hibiki, when people turn into coffins, it is called the Dark Hour. The world gains an hour. Had you ever wondered what happened in that time.. or what price the world would be charged? You put your finger on it before. What opposes us is the same thing..." When she mentions she was bored, Kandori laughs. "Pretty good, isn't it? The fountain draws all comers." Kandori's mind moves quick. He's giving them the puzzle pieces they'll need.
"Most people can't open the box using the crowbar that's inside, Hibiki. But you're the watcher that watches the watchmen, part of you is OUTSIDE the world, as part of me is."
Guido has half-finished his bento, and pauses for another mouthful.
"You will learn, but only if we right these wrongs, or wrong these rights - is it right to harm a man? Just because we think the world ought to be otherwise...?" Kandori considers for a moment.
"If someone has amnesia. If they have a wife and child out there somewhere, even a bad life. And they start a new life, a better life, with a new wife and child, would you restore their memories of their old life, even if it meant they would have to leave the new family and never return? What choice would you make, to cure them or to let them be?"
Kandori poses this last question with a smile. Everything is a test. Kandori considers that this is the Fountain, and wonders if lost souls come back sometimes. He turns to Yoh. "Do you have a younger brother?" Kandori's photographic memory races a bit ahead of Shiori's recollections. "It is important." he says, clearly.
And a truly smart individual might wonder what scared Kandori more - that spirits might be able to come back from the grave for a night time meal even if they were long lost.
Or that they couldn't.
(((Shiori Hibiki poses.)))
Shiori put her bento down, suddenly not hungry anymore.
"I... I don't know, Kandori-san," she said quietly. A nervous glance at Hitoshi, and then Yoh; Kandori was talking about the Dark Hour around Yoh, and Shiori had no idea if Yoh was already in on the secret. Then again, it wasn't as though Shiori could shut Kandori up. Maybe Hitoshi had an idea for doing so? Some kind of convenient lie to deflect the questions?
Why did they need to keep that secret anyway? What did it hurt people, especially if the Dark Hour could hurt them even more?
... could it? It was just another hour, and if people were smart and nimble, they could easily avoid the few Shadows around. All they had to do was go indoors. Creepy, yes, but life-threatening?
Shiori placed a hand to her temple, trying to concentrate through some sort of odd /feeling/ in her mind. A dischord in the symphony; a particularly grating voice at the party conversation.
"I've asked myself the same questions, Kandori-san," she admitted, "many times before. So many mysteries that we don't know. And I feel like... there's something out there, some answer that I could just about reach... but I'm not sure I want to know the answer." She stared down at her half-eaten bento, Kirby melting gently even in the cold air of winter. "I don't know if I can be trusted with the answer."
She shook her head. "Um, no, never mind. Forget I said anything, I... I'm sorry." A faint twitch, perhaps of guilt. Something speaking in Shiori's mind...
(((Hitoshi Taniguchi poses.)))
Eyes had cut toward Shiori when the comment about a girl going out at night wasn't ever a good idea. Hitoshi makes a small noise, but says nothing initially as he begins to quietly turn on his bento. He, much like Shiori, is sort of tentative about the whole character thing, and thus, instead of disturbing Mario, eats around him. He listens to Kandori while he does so, tilting his head a little bit as Shiori seems to be the one doing most of the talking...
Which makes sense. Hitoshi was more attuned to the resonance of people and the like given his evoking was a natural one, but he was by no means a Spotter; not naturally, or trained.
"The doors you speak of," Hitoshi begins quietly, "are the ones in the Abyss. Various people belong to these doors... or, the other way around." Hitoshi's not one to mince words in this time line, it seems. Quietly, he chews on a piece of the pork, finally... and it seems, judging from the complacent stance in which he sits, he's at ease with Yoh. At ease with Kandori.
And a shoulder even may accidentally nudge Shiori. A pure accident.
"... Time opposes us, then?" he asks him lightly. "That's highly metaphysical. Philosophical, even. Since, it's argued that the moment we're born, we start dying."
He'll do one better. He'll shift the conversation more toward the Abyss of Time. His feelings on Yoh... well. He glances toward Shiori quietly, giving her a bit of a reassuring look... though he begins to look concerned at her twitching and the temple rub...
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
As the conversation picked up, Yoh began to eat slower, something drawing him to listen, despite not usually meddling in others affairs. Kandori seemed to be speaking in some sort of paraphrasing, or using some kind of metaphor, as... some of what he was saying didn't click at all, figuring that they might be using some sort of code to keep something important quiet around a civilian, or something to that effect.
While not understanding most of what he was saying, Kandori began to present some sort of hypothesis about a man with amnesia. Something in that statement caused a twinge to occur in the back of his mind, as well as causing him to choke for a moment. He cleared his throat and seemed to stare blankly forward for a moment. The thoughts that faded in and out so fast... what was it? Possibly his father? Couldn't be, could it?
Yoh stopped eating for a moment as Kandori seemed to directly address him. "A brother? Can't say I do, unfortunately," He replied, just slightly curious as to what spurned the question.
(((Takahisa Kandori poses.)))
"I COULD give you the answer, Hibiki. But then you wouldn't trust it - and it would have no power. I need to help you get to the truth. The truth only has power when you get to it yourself. What I give you are the tools to find that truth yourself. I know the answer, it is not a pleasant thing to know."
Hitoshi's off-hand comment sparks a withering glare from Kandori. "No, LITERALLY. Time literally opposes you now, or a force which can-" Kandori pauses. "Never mind. If I told you, you'd forget I told you. If you come to the answer on your own, it is yours to keep. The Abyss of Time, and the hour when this place becomes other than it is now - when That City is a hell, or a heaven. Time. A stolen time. Time that ought to belong to man."
Kandori's opinion of the two seems to have dropped, he's not easy to steer.
"Doors, keys, and what's behind them. But you must THINK before you act. Is it right to force someone to walk through a door, knowing - what I know. Well, you'll see."
Kandori sighs and leans back, closing his eyes. "Ask of me some direct questions, you get three answers apiece. Ask me anything. Strip away my dignity, my privacy, my common sense, but use them wisely, for I'll depart when they're done, and we'll see what you've learned."
Kandori waves a hand. "Never mind, I thought you might be related to someone I know.", he says to Yoh, smiling at the boy. "You may of course ask some questions as well.", might as well be generous.
By now the square has cleared out a bit.
(((Shiori Hibiki poses.)))
Shiori jerked slightly as Hitoshi's shoulder touched hers. She blinked, and hunched in on herself. She had gone out partly because she was bored, true, but mostly because something had compelled her to go outside and look, something about the way the world did not fit quite right. Something indescribable, and so even to herself, Shiori had assumed that she was out here because of an impulse born from boredom.
But Hitoshi's presence here was reassuring. He would know what to do. He was the smart one.
She found herself nodding as Kandori spoke. "I understand, Kandori-san. I, um, I probably wouldn't... um. I don't mean any offense, but you're right that, er, I wouldn't trust an answer given so, uh, directly." She seemed to shrink in on herself. "I'm... I don't know, I don't know anything... I don't know the right answers... no! I need to think, I need to..." Babbling quietly to herself now, staring blankly at the bento on her lap.
Abruptly, she straightened, eyes shut, as though listening to something. The resonance-sensitive might feel... something. "Everything happens for a reason, Kandori-san," she said slowly, reciting or repeating a message. "But now, that reason is... another. Not the same reason as it should be. Different. Different answers, to whether a man should be left with his new life, or brought back to his old one. Time is... it's... time is..."
She deflated, and blinked her eyes open. "Um. I'm sorry." She looked away. "Forget I said anything, please. I... I don't know." Sigh. "Thank you for the meal, Kandori-san." The bento was still half-eaten.
(((Hitoshi Taniguchi poses.)))
The 'something' caused Hitoshi to look up quietly from his Bento, toward Kandori's glare. His own eyes sort of just stare back. Glare all you want, yo.
However, he felt something as well. Though... it was probably not on the same level as Shiori was feeling. He glanced at her tentatively, narrowing his eyes at her as she quietly stuttered over some of the words she was trying to get out.
He isn't the type to interrupt her.
He glances toward Kandori quietly, tilting his head. He says nothing yet, furrowing his eyebrows a little... "You do make very good bento," he compliments quietly. His own is mostly eaten, at this point.
Good thing it's not poison!~
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
Yoh can't help but begin to wonder if what eh is hearing, he actually shouldn't be. Kandori continues to be speaking in a philosophical sense, and the others present seem to fully understand. Finishing the bento and setting the tray next to him, he listens intently.
He can't help but be confused at this time. Normally, things that do not pertain to him, he just does not listen to, as to stay out of others' business, but this time... He can't explain it. Perhaps it is the charisma Kandori is putting off? He cant help but let his mind wander for a minute for an answer, before presented with Kandori's offer of a question to give him. "Well... I cannot say I have a question, Kandori-san." Yoh makes an 'over his head' gesture. "I do not really understand what you are talking about, and doubt it pertains to me in any way, so I feel I shouldn't pry." As he finishes talking, he hopes he doesn't offend the person who kindly gave him food.
(((Takahisa Kandori poses.)))
"No. When the time comes, remember this. Maybe that's enough. I give you permission to remember this night -even if forces would try to take it away from you. That memory might be enough, when events change once more. Not that you'll remember that."
Takahisa Kandori rises. "Then unless you have any questions, Yoh, I will go forth and see what I can do. I have armed someone else, though, and I may be too busy to solve this crisis. It may be left to you."
Guido does not seem pleased with the idea, but he feels that his words now will be remembered and have some bearing if this lot ends up in danger. "At this time, and in this place, I've seen firsthand what I should fight, and I think you'll win out, but I don't know yet. Isn't it exciting?" He waggles his eyebrows.
Yoh definitely doesn't offend him. Kandori gathers up the trays and the cups and puts them in his briefcase after closing them carefully. He then prepares to go. "Keep it in mind, if you feel inclined to make an appointment at my office once the last door has closed. Goodnight."
Guido thinks he will even be able to sleep, and he now knows that some dynamics have changed.
(((Shiori Hibiki poses.)))
"... but why wouldn't we remember what happened?" Shiori wondered to herself. Did Kandori know something they didn't? And if so, how, and what?
She glanced apologetically at Yoh. "I'm sorry that, um, that we've been talking about things that are... complicated," she mumbled. "It's been nice to meet you, Yamagatani-san. I hope, er, I hope this conversation hasn't made you, um, uncomfortable."
She looked at Hitoshi with pleading in her eyes. Help me get over this awkwardness.
(((Hitoshi Taniguchi poses.)))
Hitoshi just quietly watches him. He bites his bottom lip, saying nothing immediately... though, the obvious look on his face would indicate that indeed, there are cogs turning in the writer's mind.
"We may not remember because something may happen that would cause this meeting to have never occurred," he finally says, his voice low. He then sort of comes out of his stupor, glancing toward Shiori and that pleading look. He bites his lip, unsure of what to say, before he glances over toward Yoh.
"At least the food was good?" he asks, rubbing the back of his neck and grinning just a little awkwardly...
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
Yoh glances around at the other three. The boy puts forth an earnest smile, though behind it, was a teenager that felt like he has been present for something he most certainly shouldn't have been there for. He didn't quite understand most of what was said, but something was not right. Was this some sort of government meeting? Perhaps something deeper? He would never know.... probably.
Yoh couldn't help but feel tense at that moment, as though not knowing what to do, one of the few feelings he did not like is one of unknowing. Suddenly though, the tenseness seemed to shatter as Shiori addresses him. "Oh! It is no problem. It is you three's business, not mine! No need to worry," Yoh said, recollecting his energetic self. "And, yeah, the food was quite good. I do appreciate the meal. Hopefully I can return the favor one day." He says to both Hitoshi and Kandori.
(((Shiori Hibiki poses.)))
Government business would be odd business indeed, considering two of the three were only of high school age.
Shiori simply stared at Hitoshi in silence after his comment. Something causing this meeting to not have happened... the stare was not incredulous or disbelieving. Instead, there was a clear sign that Shiori was thinking about the implications of just such a thing happening, and she really did not want to follow that train of thought to conclusion.
A silent stare, continuing for a long, long time.
(((Hitoshi Taniguchi poses.)))
Hitoshi just sort of glances back to Shiori when he realizes he's being stared at. He frowns a little bit... but then lightens up, his tone trying to sound... light? "We should get back home," He tells her quietly, looking down at a wristwatch he's wearing. "It's getting late."
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
Bowing politely to the group, while trying not to make a scene, he says, "That it is. I should probably head home as well. It is all the way in Lunarvale on the far side." Stuffing the map into his pocket, and brushing off a few loose grains of rice from the lower portion of his shirt, Yoh stretches, obviously tired from a long day of learning locations in Okina City.
(((Shiori Hibiki poses.)))
"Um!" Shiori blinked, startled out of her reverie. "Y-yes, we should."
She bowed politely to Yoh. "Thank you for chatting with us, Yamagatani-san. I hope we will meet again soon." Note to self: Lunarvale, far side.
Shiori would let Hitoshi take the lead, although this time, she would insist on clutching at Hitoshi's arm. Clearly the conversation with Kandori, and Hitoshi's final remark, had unsettled her greatly.
(((Hitoshi Taniguchi poses.)))
... This was sort of far more attention that Yuuka had been showing Hitoshi lately. With the time stream warped... their relationship was more or less on 'ice.' Half of the things that'd brought them together... Such as the fateful nomming of a certain Crocodile creature that caused Hitoshi to -pick up an Evoker- were no longer memories. They were just... nothing. The trip to Tokyo? Nothing. Hitoshi had gone by himself. It had been uneventful, and if anything, he had recieved a really nasty slap on the face from his publishers.
So, no complaints. If anything, Hitoshi grasps the arm a little bit tightly than he probably should... Sigh.
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
The boy bows once more to the group. "I hope so too. Maybe we can find something fun to do," He says with a false chuckle. And with that, heads his own direction after bidding them farewell. Still contemplating many of the things said, he can't help but wonder why his mind is still set on the conversation. He has easily rendered many entered conversations in the past unimportant to him, and therefore didn't pay it any mind. What was different this time? Yoh knew he wasn't going to sleep well on this.
Though, the good food would help some.
