Sleuth!! The Ryuseki Newspaper Detective?!

[ephemeralcolor.insanejournal.com]

Who: Mitsuya, open
What: Mitsuya is nosy.
When: The day after the magic incident, a bit after school.
Where: Ryuseki hallways.



Mitsuya's brief visit to the club she occasionally called home had left her in despair (at least, as much despair as she could be in, which wasn't much). As she saw it, her mission was to entertain and illuminate, to give people a taste of something apart from their dreary lives, not to elucidate more of that dreaded drudgery.

But Shinozaki-san had threatened to pull her column altogether if she refused the assignment, so to her dismay, she was stuck with it, and it with her. The thought hung over her like a nearly literal cloud.

But she was not one to sink into despair for long, and halfway to her locker, she'd figured out what she needed to brighten her spirits: an adventure. A new place to explore. Somewhere with an air of mystery, where rumors circulated like the wind.

She knew just the place.

Comments

[thebardinator.insanejournal.com]

The rumors of an accident in the old school building had traveled far and fast.

Most schools have a healthy amount of gossip, if one can call something like gossip healthy. There had been word of why Itsuki Kudou and Takuro Iwasaki had wandered alone into the old building, and colorful suggestions of their motivations. From a teenage tryst to some slander of petty theft of school supplies - some of which were focused on Itsuki Kudou, even if no student would actually explain such a bias (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_issues_in_Japan) if they were pressed.*

Upon approaching the old building, Mitsuya would find an ineffective sign over at the broken door. It was suspended by scotch tape crossing the door left and right like a big "X". "HELLO. PLEASE DO NOT ENTER."

In a smaller font:
"This paper should not be taken or constructed as an admission of unsafe conditions in the school."

It was written in Iwata-sensei's handwriting, with a sharpie marker. There was a tiny smiley at the end.

[thebardinator.insanejournal.com]

Ambient Music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OphuE9yLVkk)

The old school building was still as dusty as Takuro and Itsuki had found it. The open door had blown some of the dust inside, and made the rest raise up to tinge the air a little yellow.

There were footsteps on the ground, leading in, and some signs of wreckage inside.

A groan from the wood over her. There was someone on the upper story!

[ephemeralcolor.insanejournal.com]

One could (if anyone else were there with her, which she had been fairly certain there wasn't) practically see the "!" over Mitsuya's head at the sound above her. Could the building be... haunted?

No, no. There were footsteps in the dust. Shame, that. Not that it precluded the possibility, mind you.

As quietly as she could, with the slight swaying of her hair as she moved creating eddies of dust in the otherwise still air, she padded over to the stairs and peered up, hoping to catch a glimpse of her fellow intruder, before slipping up them herself, step by cautious step. The wreckage, while intriguing, could wait; she wanted to find out who else had ventured out here.

[shiftingseas.insanejournal.com]

It so happened that Tsuchi was approaching from another direction. The old building was decaying before his eyes. As he put his eyes on the broken doors they seemed to break apart under his gaze. He continued staring too, looking rather puzzled, because at that moment there was a person going inside. A certainly school-dressed girl who was sneaking in and seemed to be acting very odd.

He stood in the middle of the road and watched her enter the building, and a lightbulb seemed to come on above his head.

"Sir? Sir? Siiiiir!"

[quitethetyrant.insanejournal.com]

The mating call of the tattletale attracts the wild tyrant. Within seconds, Takeo, who was busy checking his smartphone for updates on the penal code, in vain hope that some forms of torture would be allowed for school discipline, looked up at Tsuchi. He followed his line of sight, and, seeing the same as he did, clicked his tongue.

"Ah. Divine providence. And here I thought the day would be boring when those two that we thought we'd catch making out in the ceiling were just playing UNO. Come along, Utazawa," he said, pocketing his phone. "We must serve our duty."

[shiftingseas.insanejournal.com]

Tsuchi did not need telling that Takeo was being quite joyous. This seemed to mean that he was no longer annoyed by Oubai. And now he felt relieved. He had been quite worried that grudge would last for weeks.

He had no time to think of anything else. He leaned over the police tape and watched his friend stoop and walk right through it. The threshold seemed to pulse a little. An curious look spread across his face. He dared not peek into it. He tried telling his brain it was nothing, then he asked it if ghosts existed and was told no.

He chomped at the opinion he was dying to share. "Creepy place. Should relocate your dungeon here, yeah."

[quitethetyrant.insanejournal.com]

"Probably, a good location as any for sure," said Takeo, who did feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing a little. He started walking with cautious steps.

"You know, when you think about it... we're breaking the rules ourselves by being here. I wonder how you feel about that particular quandary," he started. His eyes turned down. "Two sets of footsteps on the dust."

[shiftingseas.insanejournal.com]

Here Tsuchi, who kept looking nervously around the room like there were ghosts, shivered and cracked his arms behind his head. There was not really much he could say to that, except to try not to look utterly frightened.

"Seems like there's some more on the ceiling, too."

He gestured overhead, where there were no footsteps at all.

[quitethetyrant.insanejournal.com]

"Hm..." Takeo said. Those goosebumps from before were acting up... a little electricity on his skin that he decidedly didn't like. It served to jolt his mind into action. "Come to think of it, if we're caught here it would look rather unfavorable... and if word of this got to Yamato-sempai, on the student council..." he mused loud, rubbing his chin... prior to turning around and grabbing one of Tsuchi's hand. "Quickly," he said, and without a warning rushed into one of the open classrooms, snapping the door shut.

This would be the first time Tsuchi would see a sort of fear in Takeo's eyes. It sparked brightly when he mentioned the student council president.

[shiftingseas.insanejournal.com]

Tsuchi leaned back towards the hall while Takeo used body strength to pull him in the classroom. He meanwhile wracked his brains for a way to figure out how they could explain their presence, if both were caught. The truth was he simply didn't have a reputation. But he did not quite dare to test the truth. Instead, he meandered back and spent the next few seconds inspecting the keyhole.

And - well, he wouldn't get in trouble for following orders, right? Not that the betrayal of cowardice necessarily ran in his blood

"I don't think there's nothing to worry about. Doesn't your work give you some reason for being here? Sides, he's not as clever as you."

[quitethetyrant.insanejournal.com]

"Oh, he's certainly not as clever as me, but I'd rather not underestimate him. Remember, Yamato-sempai is still, after three months of classes, the student council president." He said this as if he expected Tsuchi to deduce the obvious consequence of that statement. "In three months, I've yet to get any closer to defeating him him and continue my glorious rise towards my hegemony," he continued, raising a hand to clutch thin air, dramatically. "He is truly a formidable-- wait, shh."

Takeo said nothing. He was listening for the footsteps outside... And, upstairs, too. Briefly, he had his attention stolen by the fact he was sure he'd heard a yelp. (http://asylums.insanejournal.com/savedacitydesu/2311.html?thread=52743#t52743)

[shiftingseas.insanejournal.com]

That respect for an opponent was difficult for Tsuchi. He would rather deny somebody was strong than see somebody he respected as weak. He would rather die than admit it, even. He even realised that he could control people a lot like that too. But that didn't alter the fact that others could see that in him too.

"But everybody's got secrets, don't you think?" he said, and catching the same sound he rolled his head onto the side and listened for more.

"What was that?"

[quitethetyrant.insanejournal.com]

"It sounded like a scream. Huh. I hope Mitsuya-san hasn't gotten in an accident like Kudou and Iwasaki..." he said. Ah-- but there were footsteps coming downstairs as well. Takeo would've assumed it was just a school authority when he heard an unfamiliar voice outside:

"Who is there? I know I heard someone down here! I'm telling you, you'll be in trouble if I get you!" said the voice. It was a man's voice, but their brains refused to recognize it.

Takeo scowled. In a take-charge matter, he turned to the windows, struggling to open one which refused to budge. "Utazawa, change of plans... help me here, quickly."

[thebardinator.insanejournal.com]

The stairs were wide, made for the heavy traffic of many, eager students. There were signs that they had been recently escalated, and, from the bumps and cracked edges of some of the steps,, they had been dragging something along. Something heavy.

The second story of the school had a long hallway. Mitsuya's arrival made some dust come down from the ceiling, but other than that, it was quiet and empty for the moment. However, walking further would alert her to some muffled sounds... and voices, with pauses in-between. Someone, in a distant room, was talking into a phone.

"--well this should be good enough for now, shouldn't it?"

Pause.

"I told you, best I could do. At least they won't look for these things up here. And I'll be keeping an eye out..."

[ephemeralcolor.insanejournal.com]

Oho. 'These things', eh? Curiouser and curiouser. Apparently that pair of underclassmen had indeed been on the trail of some dark school secret. As for the other person up here... well, now, it wouldn't do for her to interrupt such an important conversation, would it?

Gingerly, testing each step for stability and creakiness, she made her way down the hall at a pace that might be painful for someone less patient. But she didn't want to risk getting caught this far in by standing smack in the middle of the corridor when whoever-it-was made their exit--she'd need to find somewhere to hide.

Ah, a closet. Convenient! She tested the door, winced at the creak of its long-unoiled hinges, and practically leapt inside, closing it behind her save for the tiniest crack through which to observe, the only light in her otherwise pitch-black, utterly unknown surroundings. She felt suddenly like she was in a spy novel.

Oh, yes, this was definitely going on her blog tonight.

[thebardinator.insanejournal.com]

"I understand they found it, but I'll get it back soon enough. I doubt they made head or tails out of it anyway..." the voice continued. After what seemed like some questioning response, it went on. It was a man's voice, clearly. "I know kids are curious, but this is fine for now. I'll put on the perception filter soon and they won't even FIND this room."

Silence.

"Well what are the odds someone would be listening in? I know those don't work if someone knows what they're looking for but it'd have to be someone very patient..."

Pause.

"I'm not being unnecessarily expository. What are you talking about?"

Blabber.

"You worry too much. Besides, soon as I get out, we'll just get this place haunted. Kids will be so distracted by that, they won't come snooping too much--"

A sound-- from downstairs?!

"Huh... oh, well, guess I have to go take care of something. Ah, don't worry, I left some guards anyway. I know. Yes. Yes."

For some reason, despite the fact the voice was close to the closet, Mitsuya would have trouble putting her finger on who it belonged to. As if her brain were struggling with the simple act of recognition. And, within seconds, thump-thump-thump, the footsteps had gone down the stairs...

[ephemeralcolor.insanejournal.com]

And speaking of snooping kids, out came Mitsuya. There had been so much for her to take in in those few short lines that she was almost drowning in speculation. A perception filter? 'Getting' the place haunted? Such tantalizing hints!

Silently thanking the blabbermouth whose voice rang some bell deep in the back of her mind--not to mention whoever had caused that remarkably convenient interruption--she felt confident enough to manage a brisk tiptoe down the hall. At each door, she stopped and peeked inside, looking for anything large, heavy, and insufficiently dusty; after all, he had said that the filter wasn't on yet...

He had also mentioned guards. Oh well. She'd cross that bridge when she came to it.

[thebardinator.insanejournal.com]

This hunt would ultimately lead to finding a classroom-- which, well, the more she'd look at the door, the more she'd feel like she should skip to the next one.

Skip. Nothing interesting here. Go on.

Whatever a perception filter was, it was starting to catch... but not fast enough. Likely, she would look inside, and find a room with not one, but many, many boxes, some of which were open and displayed an assortment of old looking relics... most of which seemed like the standard paraphernalia in a Shinto temple. Particularly eye-catching was a bunch of scrolls piled up in the center of the room. It was so because that's the spot her brain insists that she'd ignore.

[ephemeralcolor.insanejournal.com]

Surely there's nothing to see here...

As soon as the insatiably curious Mitsuya noticed that thought run through her head, she knew something was up. Perhaps had the... effect? Spell? Whatever it was, had it been fully in place, perhaps the thought might not have intruded at all, but as it was, it was more than enough to attract her attention to the awfully out-of-place pile of boxes in the room.

Even as she drew closer, her eyes and mind seemed to want to just slide across it, but that was an urge she could pinpoint and actively contradict thanks to that convenient warning.

"What have we here..." she murmured, surveying the peculiar assortment of objects assembled there for, presumably, safekeeping. As it was, it would be more than enough for her to have a field day with--perhaps a few, should she manage to get back in.

But there was something that some part of her mind seemed to be actively pulling her away from, and that just made her all the more insistent on examining that first.

"Scrolls?" Well, if there was indeed magic involved here, why not?

[thebardinator.insanejournal.com]

Opening the scroll would result in more than Mitsuya could probably imagine. It wasn't just mystery, or subtle nuances of dubious supernatural quality (debatable by even the more skeptic mind.)

A word appeared on the scroll, written by purple flame in elegant and colorful kanji.
HELLO,
YOU HAVE CHOSEN THE SCROLL OF SWIFT INITIATION

In a smaller text:

CONGRATULATIONS on picking this scroll. While many would spend years upon years seeking the wisdom from within to find enlightenment, we are proud to facilitate you with an easier, more comfortable way to open your eyes to the unknown and see the flow of the powers arcane.

A soft humm filled the air.

Prepare for the experience.

The experience in question was a sudden urge to sneeze, followed by a feeling like someone had punched Mitsuya right in the face.

1/2

[ephemeralcolor.insanejournal.com]

"Powers arca--?"

Re: 1/2

[ephemeralcolor.insanejournal.com]

The affronted yelp that ensued was easily audible from downstairs, if not the new building itself.

Mitsuya clapped her hands over her mouth swiftly, eyes darting around both in embarrassment at that little outburst and apprehension that someone might find her. When she was sufficiently reassured that no one had been summoned up to the room (waiting far less time than she ought, to be sure), she left one hand to nurse her achy face and the other to pick up the scroll that had so unceremoniously enlightened her.

Enlightened? She wasn't sure she felt (more) enlightened, but she was yet a neophyte in the ways of magic, after all.

Magic. What a remarkable thought. Not at all what she had expected such mundane surroundings to be hiding.

Re: 1/2

[thebardinator.insanejournal.com]

Two things would occur thus:

First, nothing.

Then, something. That something could have been confused with 'nothing', as Mitsuya would probably imagine that the little lights she saw in the air were just the result of her brain being shaken by the force of the impact on her face... But they weren't the typical hallucinations born from migraine. No, these...

These were organized. They were patterns. Nay, threads... woven and shining in iridescent colors, like a spider web. She saw them crossing the room, through the air, and gathering around the door. It would cause her a little headache, should she pay a lot of attention to them, but... she could almost see the pale image, like a blinking light, of some sort of test. Runes. Certainly not kanji. And even more strange, she would, if she focused, be able to translate them.

They read in words that spoke to the little girl inside her... words that the adult, concrete, mechanical mind would have trouble swallowing, but the child within could read easily. They were abstract. They were... not a command, but a suggestion, repeating itself over and over.


"Ignore."
"Look away."
"Ignore."
"You have other things to do."
"Ignore."
"You should be somewhere else."
"Ignore."
"Ignore."
"Ignore."

[ephemeralcolor.insanejournal.com]

My oh my oh my. So there had been something to it after all.

Mitsuya pressed a finger to her chin thoughtfully as she peered at the thoroughly ineffective defense against entry. Of course the school knew, but how much did they know? What could they be covering up? Had this been a setup? Could the two underclassmen have themselves stumbled across some secret that the school wanted kept buried!? Scandal! Mystery!

Only one way to find out~

Humming tunelessly to herself, Mitsuya neatly detached the scotch tape from one side of the door frame, stepped inside, and--ever courteous--reattached it as best she could behind her.