3 || [video]

[incriminating]

[Seated low in the night sky, the moon elongates Adachi's shadow until it stretches out before him and swallows the name imprinted on the grave he stands in front of. The communicator is level with his legs, positioned in such a way that his expression is nearly impossible to discern from the sharp angles of his face. He is painfully still, the

Comments

[[ Video ]]

[caged_flower]

[She's watching you, Adachi.]

[[ Video ]]

[incriminating]

[He glances down at the comm and cocks an eyebrow, flashing her a brief, edgy grin.]

What? Cat got your tongue or something? Haha.

[[ Video ]]

[caged_flower]

[She blinks, studying him curiously, shying way just a little as she shakes her head.]

No...my apologies. I..I just noticed your transmission...

[[ Video ]]

[incriminating]

[Adachi notices this and brings his own communicator closer to him, as if he could crowd her through it. His grin unfolds into a smirk as his eyes narrow. She seems weak and timid. Perfect.]

Oh? Yeah, I just came out here to do a little...thinking. Know what I mean?

[voice]

[seventh_key]

...

[man, she's hesitant to say anything, given how their last conversation went. wouldn't she just be antagonizing him?

maybe, just maybe, she wants to push him, though - into giving her something to work with, a reason to go after him, a reason to call off the deal and just kick his face in already.]

You, looking for guidance? That's a laugh.

[voice]

[incriminating]

[Oh, how he snaps to attention at the sound of her voice. She's a glutton for punishment, this one. And he likes it.]

Heh, you'd be surprised. I guess I'm too used to having Dojima-san around to bark orders at me.

[His words are light, but he's taunting her, trying to drag her out, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon bitch, because he wants her to push him too. He wants that reason more and more now that Magatsu Izanagi is suffocating him like this.]

[voice]

[seventh_key]

[ugh, how dare he bring up dojima-san so casually. how much had that man suffered for adachi's sick little games?]

Well, if you miss it that much, maybe you ought to go by the inn. I hear they're hiring for waitstaff. You'd probably feel right at home.

[voice]

[incriminating]

...ah ha, aha, ahaha! That's cute, Satonaka-chan! But you're right! I mean, it's not like I'm busy with the case anymore now that I'm here! I have some free time on my hands, so I'll look into it!

This inn probably doesn't compare to the Amagi Inn though. Now that was some quality...service.

[sidherioghnach]

[The wind sighs through the trees like a low, soft moan of regret. The spirits swoop and dance, flitting among the graves and twisting in and out of vision. In the middle-distance, the swarming of the Slaugh can be heard, their low hiss of hateful, spiteful whispers filtering through the stones and the trees that dot the graveyard

[incriminating]

[Adachi's skin prickles as the moonlight fades and his shadow slowly crawls back to him. Expression shuttering, he pulls his jacket aside and brushes nervous fingers over the concealed gun, sensing a change in the atmosphere. He knows firsthand how dangerous the fae can be, knows that this graveyard is a cesspool for monsters, know he shouldn't be here at night alone, no iron on hand. But Adachi likes playing the wild card, enjoys teetering on the edge, and so here he is. Magatsu Izanagi hisses its approval and digs its claws further into him

fff typoes...

[sidherioghnach]

[She stops singing as he addresses her, her smile changing. One moment, it is teasing, playful and impish, and then for a flash, for a brief, blinding flash of an instant, it is a cruel smirk, the grin of a cat about to pounce on a mouse and drag out its suffering - and then, as if that had never been, it’s a gentle, lovely smile.

Her hands, clasped in her lap, shift, and she reaches out to him, pale arm shining in the moonlight.]

Only a silly ditty I heard once, long ago… this felt like such a fitting place for it, don’t you think?

[Her smile is still sweet and beautiful, but there’s a glint to her eyes. That feline ferocity remains, all grace and pure, unbridled malice.]

A corbie… a crow, that is… a carrion bird. It waits for something to die by another creature’s hand… then swoops in to feast… if it can, of course. [Her smile curves again then, showing the knife’s edge flash.] Sometimes others things get there first… or they even get in the way, leaving the little scavenger to go hungry and only want more…

[And then her

I am so sorry for the length of this! I got carried away ><

[incriminating]

[He is struck to the core by what she has said. He identifies with the corbie, finds himself remembering manipulating Namatame into kidnapping the children and how he hungered for more chaos, more pain, and how those brats got in the way every time. He wants to explain this to her, wants her to know she’s telling a story not about crows, but about Tohru Adachi, but he thinks that she already knows

[ Audio ]

[junesoholic]

[ She's mostly speechless, because all of this seems so off compared to the goofiness she's used to from him. She doesn't understand a few of the words, but it reminds her of that one time she heard a few older boys saying them and her dad had gotten mad at them and had asked if they kissed their mothers with those mouths. ... When she thinks about it, she still doesn't understand why he said that.

After a few moments it seems she has gathered enough courage to speak up. ]

A.. Adachi-s-san?

[ After that she goes quiet for a little bit again, wondering what she should or can say in this kind of situation. ]

Are you.. um.. okay..? [ Her tone wavers between scared and worried. ]

[ Audio ]

[incriminating]

[There's a sharp exhale as he struggles with himself. It was late when he started rolling the video feed, he didn't think Nananko-chan would still be up. Guilt eats away at him and he doesn't know why, doesn't want to know why. He's too unstable to examine these feelings, to try and make sense of them, and Magatsu Izanagi devours him, chasing away the guilt.]

...You're such a good little girl, aren't you, Nanako-chan? You do what you're told. I wish more girls were like you, Nanako-chan.

[He begins to continue and then cuts off with a choked noise.]

N-Nanako-chan, don't worry about me. I'm okay. Just a little...tired.

D-don't stay up too late. Dojima-san would kill me if he thought I was keeping you awake.

[ Audio ]

[junesoholic]

[ There's another long pause from her side of the feed, because he just seems so strange and different tonight. Even though she realises the first part is probably meant to be a compliment it feels so off and.. scary, even? But after that he seems to return more to himself and she honestly doesn't know what to make out of this anymore.

Somewhere in the back of her head she's ready to blame it on sleepiness. ]

If you're tired.. you should go to bed too. [ It comes out a bit slow and hesitant, as if she isn't sure what to say to this man who almost seems like a scary stranger and then switches and is yet so clearly the Adachi-san she knows. ]

I couldn't sleep. ... Dad's not here. [ It isn't clear if she's referring to what she said or what Adachi said with that afterthought. ]

[ Audio ]

[incriminating]

You're right. I think I need to rest.

[He pauses, just as uncertain as she is. Then he mumbles something under his breath, an aside to Magatsu Izanagi, and sighs quietly.]

Can't sleep, huh? You've got your big bro though, right?

[God, but even talking about Seta gets his blood boiling. He quickly changes topics.]

When your dad put you to bed, what'd he do? Tuck you in? Did he read to you?

[unposted][1/idk :D]

[toplay_thefool]

[There's something so, so wrong here, so glaringly obvious. It's a nauseating kind of feeling, but not a niggling, creeping one like he's been used to, no: this is urgent, this is knock you in the back of the knees abrupt, sharp and crashing, and dread is pooling in his gut as he watches.

[unposted]

[toplay_thefool]

[Val knows. Schneizel knows. Other people might know, hell, he has no idea how much Yosuke and Chie have been saying, not really, and that's another unpleasant jolt - they're divided on this, or at least, he is, and he's acutely aware of a rift that isn't quite there (yet).

But still, people know. Adachi is cornered. He can't do anything without incurring reaction of people other than himself, Yosuke, Chie - hell, Nanako is here (ohgod, Nanako is here, Nanako has seen) and Souji's almost certain that in November, when Nanako was struggling for life in a hospital bed that was too cold and too white and - (quit thinking about that) -

He's certain that what he saw on Adachi then was real. That's got to count for something, right? Nanako's got to count for something.

[unposted]

[toplay_thefool]

{But who the hell is he to really speculate on this? It was - fuck, compared to this, it was easy in Inaba. Things were confused, but they were linear. They didn't need to know things like the inner workings of Adachi's psyche, they just needed to track him down. Here, though - here - here there's so much Souji doesn't know that he needs to, that he feels he should know.

He kind of wishes there was someone he could consult with on this, but who the hell is there for that? He can't talk to Yosuke or Chie about this - he can't let them know he's got doubts. They're doubting enough, but they've put their faith in him - (what if that doesn't work out, what will they think then) - and he's not going to let that be shaken further if he can help it.

Valeria? Schneizel? Out of the question. They know, but they don't know enough.For a moment, he feels utterly alone, completely stranded. The 'sea of his soul' is a tumultuous one of doubt and anxiety

[unposted] /SPAMMING FOREVER? :D

[toplay_thefool]

[Think, goddammit. You're not alone.]