CHAPTER 5 ; INVESTIGATION

[themodsgrimm]

The Story Continues... CHAPTER 5 - WEEK 5??? Narrators Remain ; The clock begins to chime, and on the first note, curfew lifts. Your doors swing open, whether you are ready or not. Leaving your room is a blur. The person you fell asleep beside — are they still there? Have they vanished? Were they ever there at all? You can't seem to recall clearly. What you are most aware of is the pervading sense of wrongness in the air, and how you can't hear anything but the chime of the clock. Even the sounds of your own voice and your own footsteps do not reach your ears. By the time the time the clock strikes nine, you know one thing to be true: blood has been spilt. Search the castle carefully — you wouldn't want to miss a single important detail, would you...? Welcome to this week's investigation post! This time, the mods will be providing top-levels for you to search. Please note the Locations page for your reference. Evidence — or lack thereof — will be noted in these threads. We ask that group threads consist of no more than 2-3 characters. After the discovery of the body (or bodies) and any pertinent evidence, an IC announcement concluding the investigation will go up. You are then free to make your own toplevels on this post for any threads you would like to have between the end of the investigation and the start of the trial. If you have any questions, please ask on our Discord server or ping us on plurk. Please direct pings to Britt (bloodthirstiest) and Danielle (entrappings), as they will be taking point on this investigation! Instructions on this week's investigation can be found in a pin in the General chat! full navigation. locations taken (statuses) stories (profiles) info & faq wishing well private conversations

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[nivation]

[ The moment Kyouka sees Jae-ha, her eyes go wide, and she falls to her knees. Her mouth opens in a silent and wordless scream.

This can't happen again. It's happening again. It can't happen again. It happened again.

How many times does she have to lose—

Her shoulders quiver, but the longer she stares at the dead in front of her, she eventually stills. She's too still. It's almost eerie. ]

[sanguinairy]

[After this double whammy, Souji is pretty rocked himself - though not enough that he doesn't notice Kyouka having a Really Bad Time. After a few second's pause, he quietly steps over, moving to kneel beside her without reaching out just yet. Quietly:]

Kyouka?

[nivation]

[ At the first sound of his voice, Kyouka moves by pure instinct. Her hand reaches into her sleeve, and in the next instant, Kyouka has a fork out but stops it an inch before reaching Souji.

He is one of two people left(?) that her usual sense would stop her. ]

[sanguinairy]

[For his part, he doesn't so much as flinch when she moves to strike him, or when the fork pulls just a bit shy of its mark. Instead, after a beat, he holds both of his hands out toward her, palms up. The gesture is a little stiff with a repressed grief, but it's the least he can offer when she's in such obvious distress.]

[nivation]

[ She's too lost in her own grief to notice his. Her movements are stilted, not too unlike his, as she tucks the fork away. It's like she needs to do something but doesn't know what.

She stars at his hands like they're alien. ]

Why....?

[ Her voice is hoarse even though she hasn't shed any tears. ]

[sanguinairy]

[He doesn't know. He's asked himself that question a lot, especially over the last few weeks, but he still doesn't know how to answer it in any of its iterations.

If she won't take his hands, that's okay. He can't fix things with his words - he's never really been good with them. Instead, he just reaches forward and pulls her into a (somewhat loose, at least) hug. Maybe not the smartest thing to do with someone who has stabby reflexes but it's fine, a gutpunch or fork shank is the least he can do for someone in so much pain.]

[nivation]

[ She twitches a little when he touches her, but there is little resistance when he pulls.

It's that motion that gets her to tear up finally. The only other person here who's tried to pull her into a hug like this before is Jae-ha.

Was Jae-ha.

She leans into Souji's hug, and like the scream that she couldn't voice earlier, her sobs are quiet. ]

[sanguinairy]

[Once it's clear she's not discomforted by the contact or going to break away, he'll tighten his hold a little, like he's trying to convey all of the things he doesn't have the talent to sew into words.

As she cries, he's quiet and mostly still, just doing the best he can to provide her with a place tucked away from the hall and those looming glass cases where she can let out some of that hurt. He'll stay exactly like this for as long as she needs him to.]

[nivation]

[ Even before this castle and its game, Kyouka was used to death and seeing people die before her. It never stops eating away at her, no matter how much she's tried to kill herself inside.

It's always worse when she lets herself become attached. As if she could stop herself.

She doesn't have anything to say for a long while. ]

Is wanting to kill playing into their hands?

[ Even muffled against him, her words sound more monotone than upset. ]

[sanguinairy]

...It may be.

[It likely is. This game has done everything to set this up, after all; allowing them time to get to know each other, to become so tenderly attached. All the same:]

It's still your grief.

[Even if it's what they want, maybe, it's not like anything can be done for such a genuine reaction. Maybe it would be better for all of them, not to feel things so fully. But it can't be helped.]

[nivation]

What about yours?

[ She's cried enough to be cool-headed to think about a few certain things. She's cutting away at her feelings, compartmentalizing them so she can focus. She knows enough that Souji has lost enough in the previous weeks, and this week is more on top of that.

What is his grief? ]

[sanguinairy]

[What is his grief? Something useless and listless, honestly; an ugly thing that shouldn't be witnessed. Which is why he's netted it together and made something new.]

Mine is a reminder.

[A reminder that there were people here he loved, people that he doesn't want to fail. After a second, he leans back onto his heels.]

Take a walk with me? I could use a little air.

[And Kyouka could probably use like, not being around these deadass bodies.]

[nivation]

[ Timelines are fake, and Kyouka will go on a walk. ]

Reminders are heavy.

[ Even in her own fragmented state, a part of her wants to go with Souji. Following him to get air doesn't seem like the wrong thing to do. ]

[resumed]

[Guess who was waiting next to the glass cases this whole time? Hidden in the shadows and only appearing when the dead were announced, Nico approaches. A gold, metallic dog follows at his heels.

He doesn't say anything. There's too much he isn't ready to say, but he approaches and he eventually holds out a hand to her.

Aurum, on the other hand, approaches Kyouka as well and settles between the pair. He patiently waits for orders.]

[nivation]

[ Her hand reaches for her sleeve but stops because Nico's voice reaches her before she takes action. Her usual discomfort around dogs doesn't faze her because she's so distraught.

She stares at Nico blankly with dark eyes before she rises to her feet and grabs his hand like it's her only lifeline. ]

[resumed]

[He's not even afraid of what she might do. Aurum waits patiently and as soon as she reaches for his hand, he grips onto it just as tightly. He refuses to look at her though.]

We need to go. [It's very quiet and a tight sort of phrase, a sort of controlled tone to make sure it's perfectly even.]

[nivation]

[ She doesn't question him. She won't question him for a while yet because she's still questioning her own ability to do anything.

She'll follow him. ]

[resumed]

[He's going to take her back to their room then and blatantly ignore Hikage. It's better this way, maybe. He can't let her linger here for too long. Aurum follows at his heels again but Nico hardly minds the dog. It's loyal and patient though as it follows them up and away from the rest of the group of Narrators.]

[fonlines]

[ Ion didn't know either of the victims enough to think that his offering sympathy would be anything more than hollow.

Still, he approaches her at around the same time that Souji does, appearing with his partner even all he can really do is lend silent support while Souji handles-- the rest of it. ]

[nivation]

[ Kyouka will remember this.

It's a good thing Ion appears with Souji because if he hadn't, she would have accidentally on purpose stabbed him. Instead, she'll just cry while Souji tries to comfort her. ]

[fonlines]

[ He just hovers, torn between coming closer and giving her space. He isn't his replica. His replica would be better at this, perhaps. This Ion has been alone too long to know how to best comfort a crying girl.

But, he does speak up, when he gets the chance. ]

... We haven't lost them for good.

We can't have.

[nivation]

[ When she pulls herself away, she makes eye contact with him, unwavering and unfaltering. Her eyes may look blank, but she's staring him straight on. ]

If there's a way to bring them back, I want to hear it. Nothing vague. I will do anything.

[fonlines]

[ He looks her over-- then meets her gaze dead on, unwavering and unflinching himself despite the exhaustion apparent throughout his being. ]

... Speak with me later. I'll be in our room-- Souji's and mine.