maskeddarkness | Trial of Trials : Act 2

Trial of Trials : Act 2

There's something uneasy that can be felt in the city, and seemingly no end to the rumors springing up in the wake of the downtown explosion that leveled BOARD's headquarters. Stories of an odd sickness where the afflicted suddenly winds up anemic, their blood levels dangerously low, despite feeling fine that morning have already taken root, others of strange animals seen roaming at night, and horrible screams and gunshots in one of the parking garages....

The space where the ill-fated headquarters lays silent, an empty patch of dirt and gravel that seemed to attract those drawn to stories and rumors. Police have already had to shoo away opportunists with metal detectors, hoping to find something interesting in the impressively quickly cleared wreckage, and others have reported something that just feels... wrong, when they walk by the site. The ghosts of those who hadn't made it out of the collapse? Or something else? Noone can really put a finger on it to explain.

And meanwhile, under the cover of shadows, things unknown to those who still walk in the light continue to move. Whispers of the rogue mage and a treasure trove of information, of upsets in the vampire hierarchy, and sworn revenge on the mages who had used one of their own for their gain.

And deep in a hidden lab, BOARD's remains and allies continue to work, twisting all they can get their hands on to create the perfect weapon; made of the very things they wish to cleanse from the world. The loss of the incapacitated vampire elder was only a small one, with how much they had already extracted and drawn from it. And if the rumors of their knowledge being in the hands of their enemies were true? They would just have to speed up their projected timeline. Or simply slow down that of the world. After all, they were mages. Reality bended to their will, not that of those who opposed them....

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Tachibana hadn't meant to make a habit of walking by his former workplace on a regular basis. But he couldn't help but notice how often there was someone there, looking around with far too much interest.

...that this time, it was another kid with a.... spirit? Ghost? Whatever it was that had been following Takeru around. Another like him? Or something-- someone else?

He stands a bit to the side, doing a poor job of attempting to not look like he's peering at the suspicious kid, trying to figure out what was going on now. His magic had purified Tennouji's spirit... hadn't it? Takeru would have said something if it hadn't. Or was there something else lingering at the site of BOARD's wreckage? (or lack there of)

Thanatos notices Tachibana before Ryoji does, and it seems to glower through its skull, coffins flaring out defensively. This posturing catches Ryoji's attention, and he turns to see what his geist is staring at. ...Thanatos wouldn't have done that if this guy wasn't being suspicious, but maybe he's also just looking at the building! There's no reason to be rude, anyway.

"Hello!" he says cheerfully, waving at the man. He is kind of ridiculously perky, which is oddly offset by the open hostility of the geist.

The posturing gets a deep frown and a look that borders a glare as the mage's posture shifts to be defensive.

...The utterly cheerful greeting, however, makes him blink, frown becoming more confused than annoyed. The confusion quickly passes, however.

"You shouldn't be playing around there," he answered, tone stiff. "It's not safe."

Ryoji blinks owlishly at him, looking innocent as can be. Thanatos is still not helping. "What do you mean? There's nothing there." At least, not to the eye of anyone normal. But he suspects that this man doesn't count as 'normal.'

Very hard to look innocent when you have a mons-- ... creature floating in the air behind you all aggressively.

"It's what was there that makes it dangerous. A clean up that swift likely left something behind."

Ryoji blinks again, looking over his shoulder at the mess behind him. "What was there before?" He does kind of know, and it shouldn't be hard to find out details, but if this guy is willing to share...

"BOARD's main headquarters. And if you don't know what BOARD is, even more reason to keep your distance."

Just the a day before, he would have used past tense... but after encountering that monstrosity that had to have come from his former employer... no, BOARD was not gone. Not in the slightest.

"Ah..." Ryoji looks over it again, taking it in. It's very, very demolished. "What happened to it?"

So demolished that every indication that the building was ever there had been removed.

At the question, Tachibana gave a snort. "The answer to that changes on who you ask," he returned, tone dry as he crossed his arms.

"What are you looking for? Other than trouble..."

"Wow, don't look at me like that... it's kind of scary!" He doesn't actually seem all that scared, just chuckling nervously but still smiling. "I just want to help, if I can." And if it change... maybe he'll just have to ask a lot of people.

"Scary?" Tachibana repeated, eyebrow raising. "Don't make me laugh." Unless this kid was someone unaware of the creature floating next to it... but he had looked directly at it earlier...

"...Whatever you can do to help should have already been taken care of by another."

It was a small gamble, on the off chance that this kid wasn't the same as Takeru had been... but the similarities were too strong for him to ignore.

"You don't think you can be scary?" That is not the point at all, but if Ryoji realizes that it doesn't show on his face.

He does consider what Tachibana says, though, glancing back at the empty lot. "Should have," he says, looking back at Tachibana. He's pretty sure the man can see Thanatos, but he doesn't have a geist himself... "It's... possible something overshadowed everything else."

The question was met by another snort. No, he was well aware he could be scary. He had used that ability to his advantage, before he knew what damage he was causing... But it took far more than an annoyed glare for that.

His frown deepened at the tentative musing. Had his magic not been enough to purify the area? Or had that purification faded, allowing the remains of whatever had escaped to sink back into where it had come from? Or....

"Something hid in the shelter of something else?"

Ryoji shrugs a little. "It's certainly possible. I don't know what your friend did, after all. But if there was something overpowering, it's entirely likely they could have been too distracted to notice less powerful things. And maybe that's not what happened, but I can tell you it's not... entirely peaceful here now." 'Peace' is Ryoji's main goal with the dead, after all. He will fight them if he has to, and he's not bad at it. But he'd much rather bring their souls to rest.

Tachibana's expression softened, looking distant and almost regretful before he turned. "... do what you can, then." It wasn't as if his methods were designed for peace, after all. And any spirits that might be lingering... As much as he hoped only the more corrupt and aware members of BOARD had gone down with the building, he was sure at least some of the "grunts" of the organization had yet again been used as sacrifices.... They had deserved better in life, and even more so in death.

Ryoji nods. "I will." But he's still watching Tachibana, a quiet smile on his face. "You seem to know a lot about what happened here." It's not quite a question, but he is hoping the man might elaborate a liiiiittle bit more one what went down. It helps to go in with some information, to have an idea of what, exactly, he might be dealing with.

"Because I'm not some rubbernecking tourist poking around ruins my first day in town," Tachibana returned stiffly. It wasn't as it if were any big secret that he used to work there. Even before the 'help us find our employee' posters went up, with how often he acted as BOARD's spokesperson, most everyone knew his place of employment. Even if they had no idea what BOARD truly was...

Oh! That's right, Ryoji does recognize him now. And the pieces are staring to come together a little bit. "Well, it's very nice to meet you! What's your name? I'm Ryoji."

He's... not quite willing to give his full name to a mage, but using a fake one is honestly way too much effort. Not unless he wants to use it all the time.

"Tachibana." A common last name, nothing that could be used on it's own. And certainly not the name he took as his True Name when he ascended.

Eh, it doesn't bother Ryoji. It's not like he can do anything with names. "You've lived here for a while, I guess? I only just got into town. Do you have any recommendations?"

"...Do what you came to do, and then leave." The answer was curt, bordering rude, but there were already too many people sticking their noses into things that would likely turn ugly fast....

That's not very nice Tachibana. Thanatos, very protective of his host and much more sure that he has people's best interests in mind more than this mage. It flairs up again, large and intimidating. Ryoji looks around at it and sighs, waving a hand. "Oh hush, he just doesn't know me yet, it's fine."

He turns back to Tachibana, gentle smile still on his face. "Well, I came here partly for school! So I'm probably going to be here a while." He does look around the age of a freshman college student.

The Mage's head tilts, eyes narrowing at the spector. "...So you are aware of it..." he half murmured to himself with a frown.

The frown only deepened as Ryoji continued. "...Still part of the living world?" he frowned further. Had he been mistaken, thinking this child was the same as Takeru?

Thanatos stops posturing, but its gaze doesn't leave Tachibana.

Ryoji tilts his head at him, chuckling as he messes with his scarf. "Of course I am. That's kind of the point..." But he's not elaborating on that, redirecting the conversation back at Tachibana. "What did happen to the building? You said there are different stories. I'd like to hear yours, if that's alright."

There was a moment of curiosity where the man's expression almost softened--

-- only to harden to a glare again. "No, it isn't," he returned stiffly. What little he did remember of that night... No. No it wasn't anything he wanted to speak of. ...or anything he even should, considering those involved.

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