Mizuki froze a moment, before she bowed low, respectfully. However, as he requested, she said not a word.
Rodessa, less politely, merely hummed in agreement, sauntering over to one of the seats and lifted the cloche covering the breakfast to peruse what was there, only to pause when Mizuki sat down - directly in front of her. True, it was the only seat left at the table so there wasn’t much of a choice, but it wasn’t as though either were thrilled with looking at each other for the entire time they were effectively muted. As such, they studiously kept their gazes focused on the food, if only to prevent the temptation of sniping at each other once more. Or losing their appetites.
Checking to make sure the fragile peace would hold for a moment, Kota turned back towards the gathering with a cheerful, “So! Shall we get to the report, Madam Povell?”
Dabbing her lips daintily with a napkin, Violet straightened in her seat, surveying the now attentive listeners.
“Indeed.”
Making sure that everyone at the table was paying attention, Violet began her briefing. “During the several days we have been present, spiritual activity has been steadily increasing with each victim found. Consequently, we have discovered that not every member of the family has been targeted. Those who were neutral, or those supportive of the love affair between the girl and Mr Kobe have not been affected, at least that we are currently aware of. However, those who were opposed to the relationship have been.”
“Small blessings, at least,” Kota sighed. “We’ve had those currently not affected carry charms and wards, just in case Miss Onryou’s ire turns indiscriminate, but for the others…”
“There is a pattern in how it affects the victims...somewhere…” Mizuki murmured, fingers cupping her chin, eyes narrowed in thought. “The spirit’s kills have all been different so far. It-”
“Well, if I had an agenda against a group of people, I wouldn’t grant just one mass produced death. Oh no, that would be too easy,” Rodessa interrupted, her visible eye darkening under furrowed brows as she put herself into the mindset of the one desiring revenge, her lips quirking into a sadistic sneer. Under the shadow of her hair, a rune seems to gleam through her eyepatch for a moment, though it was gone in a blink. “If they were my target, I would craft a death that mirrored the hate I felt and the crimes they performed against me. I’d torture you the same way you tortured me.”
Humming, Mizuki nodded reluctantly. “They say ‘hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’...,” she agreed after a moment. “Such actions do match those vengeful souls who held similar temperaments to yourself in life.”
Rodessa twitched slightly at that before her eye snapped to the priestess, her sneer turning a little more mocking. “Oh, the automation speaks!” she jeered. “What a clever tin man! Now, those of us who pass the turing test are talking, so would you kindly power down while we’re working, hm?”
Mizuki stiffened slightly, however, it was the monk who responded with a sharp “Miss Hunter!” of warning.
“Whatever,” Rodessa snorted, instead waving a hand over to Kota and the folders in front of her. “Give me the file for a sec. The one on the victims.”
Glad that yet another argument had been averted, Kota handed her the file and raised a brow as Rodessa also pulled the laptop closer to herself, starting a moment before his lips twitched up, fondly amused as he watched her work, reading through the file and sorting through the corresponding pages, eyes flicking back and forth as she typed away furiously until finally she sat back and let out a sigh.
“OK. I think I got it,” Rodessa announced. “...sort of.”
Getting up, she quickly connected the laptop to the projector and began what appeared to be a quickly put together presentation.
“Now then,” Rodessa turned to her ‘audience’, “If I can redirect your attention to the screen, I believe I’ve discovered the pattern - and yes, there is one,” she added with a reluctant nod to Mizuki, before turning her attention back to the group once more. “Now, we are dealing with a grudge spirit here, correct?”
“As we’ve previously established, yes,” Mizuki said slowly, wondering where this was going to lead.
Not appreciating the tone, Rodessa offered her a ‘friendly’ smile. “Glad to see you’re listening, android 9000,” she mocked.
“Girls,” Violet barked warningly. However, it was needless as Mizuki ignored the jab and Rodessa continued as if nothing had happened.
“That in mind, we’re dealing with a decade old grudge, yes? Presuming that Miss Chino had been mistreated since she was alive, yes?”
“...Your point?”
Biting back a snarky comment she wanted so desperately to throw at the other girl, though her eyebrow twitched despite herself, Rodessa instead turned to them and jabbed the table with her finger. “The point, my good people...Hal,” she added to include Mizuki, “is why aren’t the possessions and killings in order? Why isn’t the whole household being tormented? Why are some possessed, and some aren’t?” Why are some family members and staff being completely ignored?”
Ah, so it seemed that had their attention. She almost snorted, crossing her arms. However, she headed over to her bag and pulled out an old, leather bound book, which she quickly flipped through to the section she had marked about vengeful spirits.
“I mean,” she continued. “If this outdated kindling is to be believed, she would go after them all indiscriminately, innocent or not, tormenting them in equal measure, using the same pattern: Show up, torment, torture, scare the next victim and/or possess and then kill. But no, she’s dragging them out, bouncing from ‘random’ victim to random victim.”
The monk hummed, threading his fingers together under his chin, consideringly. “But you are suggesting the contrary,” he prompted.
“I’m not suggesting anything. I’m telling you. She is more intelligent than this,” she shook the book in emphasis, placing it on the table before flicking the powerpoint to the next page, the screen now filled with testimonies.
Mizuki sat up straighter for a moment, something close to suprise flicking in her eyes as they scanned over the writing there as Rodessa continued.
“May I direct you to the order of victims,” she said, pulling out a pointer to tap the relevant parts of the presentation. “The Kobe family. While they’re no angels, a few of them are real pieces of work. They’re your typical snooty, upper classes, snubbing their noses at the little people who work for them. Some of the family are still stuck in these archaic principles and think that the lower classes are not worthy of their precious ‘blue blood’ and are typically more vocal about it than others. This corresponds with the more aggressive deaths. Those who were not only vocal but physically did something about it. Threats, beatings, docking the girl’s pay, threatening her family...things like that. They are the possessed ones and those lead to the tree, those who refused the wards. Others, the supporters of those principles, those who whispered in the shadows, they’re the ones who died by accidents - real final destination shit? Anyone remember that movie? Yes? No?”
Glancing around at the uncomprehending faces, Rodessa coughed. “OK, moving on…”
Taking a sip of her coffee to organise her thoughts (grimacing at the taste and instead pulling out a flask of her own and taking a swig of that instead) she frowned. “The deaths come in threes,” she continued. “Tormentor, whisperer, whisperer.”
“Opposition and two supporters,” Mizuki murmured as her mind raced. “And with each attack, it-”
“SHE,” Rodessa stressed.
“It,” she continued sharply, “Is getting stronger, more efficient.”
Something close to a growl broke from Rodessa’s throat, slamming her hands on the table as she glared at Mizuki. “Gods, every sylable that comes out of your mouth irks me!” she snapped. “She was human once! Will you treat Yumi Chino like one! She’s the victim here! She’s intelligent, maybe she can be reasoned with-”
“That is the point,” Mizuki interrupted, almost sighing as this same argument came up yet again. “She was human. Now it is youkai. But if you must consider it ‘human’ even now...well then. If you recall, humans are held accountable for their crimes and punished accordingly. If Yumi Chino is intelligent and doing this knowingly, then her own actions bring about her penalty.”
“So she should let those who killed her and those who tormented her get away with it?” the other demanded.
“The method she chose to enact justice is still a crime. Not only that, it sacrificed her ability to enter Nirvana,” Mizuki explained, calm in the face of Rodessa’s rage. “I will repeat myself: It is too late to reason with an Onryo. There is not saving it through ‘reasoning with it’. No redemption. No healing. What part of this is difficult to comprehend?”
“The part where you’re victim blaming!” Rodessa snapped. “She...she’s a victim of circomstance! Chances are she died with justifiable anger in her heart, alone and confused.” she hands clenched, teeth gritted. “The shit she went through, in life and in death…damn it...it would turn anyone to vengeful anger, to seek the justice she was never given on earth! The fuck did you think was going to happen?!”
Her lip curled, teeth bared when even that did not quell the younger girl. “I wouldn’t expect an automation like you to understand…” she spat out finally, drawing up from the table once more in disgust. “Your books are outdated. Maybe your mentality is as well. The supernatural...the mundane...they’re all still people. They think. They have emotions. They’re capable of good or ill, and yet…” Her eyes, sombre now, searched the girl’s face, before finally, she sighed, shoulders drooping. “...You’ve closed yourself off even to that, huh?”
Mizuki...faltered. Just for a moment. Gone was the cool, ever calm facade. For just a moment, a young girl stared back at her. And then, it was gone, the girl once again hidden behind the cloak of priestess. Even still, Rodessa had obviously seen it, a hint of defeat in her eyes as she turned back to the presentation, turning to a battle she had a greater chance of winning against.
Unbeknownst to either of them, the exchange was not unwitnessed. The three elders of the group glanced at each other, full of mixed feelings, good and bad about what had just taken place. On the one hand, they were beginning to chip into each others walls - Mizuki on Rodessa’s acceptance of the mystic world, and Rodessa on the ice around Mizuki’s soul. Still...this didn’t mean they were on common ground, still standing over a wide chasm where their moralities lay. Neither were exactly wrong in their approaches, but at the same time, neither could be considered absolutely correct either. What was needed was a middle ground between them, but with both so stubbornly holding onto absolutes...It was hard to say if the chasm would ever be bridged or would only gape wider and wider until it became impossible for either to see the virtues of the other for the vices.
Unknowing, or possibly ignoring the uneasy gaze of the three, Rodessa continued her presentation.
“As I was saying, it’s not just the physical opposers, but their cheerleaders,” she noted, using the pointer to motion to the powerpoint. “She worked her way up. The ones that were mild and not much of a threat...well, just look.”
She clicked a button and the presentation changed again to show pictures of those she had described, along with a brief message about their methods of death, which she used the pointer to gesture to.
“As you can see, their deaths were relatively painless and quick. But, as she’s progressing, they’re getting more aggressive, more violent and drawn out as she works her way to the source.” Rodessa turned to look at the listeners once more. “The current head is Rin Kobe. We still have a while yet, but if the pattern holds, that will be her final target.”
“And how have you come to this conclusion?” Not denying what Rodessa had summarized, Violet leaned back in her chair, fingers tapping the table as she raised a brow, curious of her evidence.
Taking another swig from the flask, Rodessa pulled out her Pandora-issued communicator and, after tapping through it with her thumb, a loud beep sounded. A moment later, a recording began.
[END]
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