deercountry | (no subject)

Who: Akechi and Sumire
What: Ghost hunting
When: Mid-October
Where: Prufrock

[ Akechi hadn't been intending to lean too much into this whole Hunter thing, preferring instead to tinker with the idea of establishing himself as a private investigator.

And then the first job he gets involves someone asking him to lean into this whole Hunter thing anyway.

Well, fine. It figures the two professions would end up intertwined in a place like this. It works out in the end since there's someone else he thinks needs a 101 on how things might work here. Akira he trusts to figure things out on his own but Sumire...

Well, even now he feels somewhat responsible for making sure that she's not left to fend for herself. So shortly before nightfall on a chilly October afternoon he stands in the foyer of his home, pulling on his gloves even though he knows for a fact it's not going to be entirely relevant once they get started. Once Sumire joins him, he greets her with nothing more than a simple: ]

Ready?

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[Surprisingly enough, Sumire was managing reasonably well. If there was one thing about her that was positively atypical to a teenage girl such as herself, it was her ability to adapt to things as they happened. While her track record for healthy adaptations wasn't always the greatest, she did, at least, adapt. She'd even set herself up to become a Night Walker, even if she hadn't told either of the boys she was familiar with that particular detail, yet (she was getting to it-- being absent-minded was only half of the reason, once she'd done a bit more research on the history and notoriety of the profession).]

[That wasn't to say she wasn't absolutely delighted when Akechi requested her presence. She didn't want to assume it was so much as him asking for her assistance-- she knew he was more than capable at a whole host of things she probably would hesitate to attempt, after all --but she still brought herself to him in as tip top of shape as she could. Ghost hunting, he had said. And even outside of the Western-lean of theme for the month of October, the place did seem rather populated by them. She pulled the ribbon in her hair snugly into a bow and flashed the detective a winning smile.] Only if you are!

[ Sumire's adaptability isn't a surprise. He's just glad she's not adapting herself right into another identity crisis, which he tells himself is really what this is all about. This place is already dangerous and stressful enough without her having some sort of relapse.

But he has to admit she's doing better than he might have guessed. So instead of fussing or criticizing her good cheer in the face of this potentially very unpleasant task, he just nods, pulls the door open, and gestures for her to follow. Arthur is already waiting for the two of them, sprawled out on the townhouse stoop, and when they emerge he climbs to his feet an trots down the stairs. ]

My client said she came across an entirely average looking woman wearing a veil. The woman asked if the client thought she was attractive, and when the client replied in the affirmative the woman took off her veil to reveal that her face was badly maimed.

[ He slides his gaze towards Sumire. ]

Sounds familiar, right?

[ He obviously can't say for a fact that his client ran into Kuchisake-onna, but the resemblance is undeniable. ]

[You, sir, are in no small part why she's doing better than she has in years. Tell yourself it's precaution against an inconvenient relapse of identity crisis, but you know you actually give a shit about the baby and her spunky attitude. Naturally, it's likewise for her-- upon adjusting to the aggressive, ruthless sort of person Akechi Goro truly was when he wasn't hiding behind a mask of polite smiles and gentle chuckling, Sumire found he was refreshingly ambitious. She hadn't quite figured out how to word her thanks, knowing how adverse he was to platitudes and anything that could be seen as one, but she was working on it. Just you wait, Mr. Crow, she's going to knock your socks off with heartfelt gratitude one of these days.]

[She follows his lead and wiggles her fingers in greeting to Arthur, closing her eyes to focus on Akechi's description of the ghost they were hunting. She looks thoughtful, tapping her index finger to her lower lip.] I'm no ghost or demon expert, but it sounds a bit like the stories of a slit-mouthed woman.

[ Akechi would sooner die than admit he has normal teenage boy emotions like fondness and affection.

Fortunately they're not discussing that, so Akechi is able to continue the conversation without being completely unhinged about it. In fact, he sounds pleased that she caught on so effortlessly. ]

Exactly. The similarities are unmistakable.

But there's something different, as well. When the client realized what was going on, she put on her mask and the woman lost track of her. I'm trying to figure out what else might be different, and if there might be any cause for those differences beyond the fact that we're in a completely different world now.

[Good luck dying, buddy.]

[It's not praise, but the fact that Akechi agrees with her assumption pulls Sumire's posture up in visibly childish glee. She doesn't interrupt him as he explains further, but her shoulders remain bunched up near her ears and her hands stay pressed together in front of her face as she listens. She goes from gleeful to curious by the end of it, angling her head upward as if to follow the sound of Akechi's voice.] Your client put on a mask, or the supposed Kuchisake-onna replaced her veil? I wonder if there is any written documentation of ghosts or monsters common to this place that we could cross-reference.

The client did. It seems to be part of whatever this latest festival is.

[ He gestures vaguely at their surroundings. It's not quite as lively here in Willful Machine, but there are still signs of the recent celebration - and he's sure Sumire has seen all the different masks. ]

And it worked, even though it shouldn't. So before we start trying to research local lore--

[ Because her monster manual idea is a good one. ]

--we need to gather as much information as possible so that we can narrow down our targets.

[She nods, then follows his gesturing-- she had noticed, but with someone like Akechi she wanted to make sure she understood before moving on, rather than doubling back with a question later. She taps her lower lip again.]

Mmn, that makes sense. So putting on a mask made what we think looks like a Kuchisake-onna not behave how our knowledge of them would... Which probably has to do with the festivals? Maybe it isn't a Kuchisake-onna at all...

I thought it might be similar to how the Metaverse functions. Thinking something should behave a certain way means it will behave that way.

Someone here got worked up about the festivities and willed a facsimile of Kuchisake-onna into existence - and the pervasive belief that wearing a mask will ward off monsters overwrote the normal rules for dealing with her. That's my theory.

[ Akechi rounds a corner as he explains, taking them off the main road and down a narrower, darker side street. He doesn't outwardly seem to mind the change in atmosphere, but his mind has already turned to the possibility of combat. Thus: ]

Have you tried summoning your Persona since you arrived?

[She looks thoughtful-- when she'd first been in the Metaverse, and really through most of her time in it, she hadn't taken much time to understand how it worked, having too much else on her mind to worry about it. What she did remember, at least...] That's why prop weapons worked as real ones there, right? Because we thought they would, and enemies thought they were real. In the same way, someone thought up a Kuchisake-onna, so one is here now, but not completely to the letter of how stories explain them.

[She hums at the question.] I did try, but I couldn't call her.