CONTACT | Call me, maybe

[intercalaryninja]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, HAZYREFLECTION FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 011.04.151.01 *** HAZYREFLECTION has joined 011.04.151.01 <HAZYREFLECTION> Only contact me if it is necessary. <HAZYREFLECTION> Report to me immediately if it's regarding Reira-dono. <HAZYREFLECTION> I will be checking this nightly when possible.

Comments

[intercalaryninja]

How she was responsible for it? Well I'm glad she's not trying to avoid the blame, at very least.

[He says that plainly, but it's evident he looks a bit aspirated himself.] ... I understand her reasons for doing it, but still. It's not all her fault.

[showyouthesight]

Because she chose the location. She's convinced that if she chose someplace else, it wouldn't have been so bad. He's got her completely twisted into thinking that corrupting itself would have been all right because it helps him. She thinks he's her friend.

[ Even more than him. Which does hurt, given what Elias has done to his friends. ]

I don't think it's entirely her fault either. But her alliance with him has become dangerous. For her as well. She could have been killed while she was acting as his damned conduit. And the only thing he would have cared about is that one of his sanctums was destroyed.

[intercalaryninja]

[Tsukikage pauses, listening to what Rin has to say thoughtfully. There's a long period of silence from him as he gathers his thoughts and he nods in agreement. He knows about how Reira thinks the Fourth is her friend, but it's incredibly problematic that she thinks the action was alright in the long run.] Did anyone tell you what the Fourth Followers gained from that stunt?

[Dangerous... Tsukikage certainly couldn't protest. He gives a long sigh and rubbed his temples.] She never told me upfront, but I figured it out in the last week of the whole ordeal. We knew for some time Ron was acting in the Fourth's name, but not her. I did have measures set up to protect them, [he bought a gun too.] but I'm surprised no one ended up firebombing our house again.

... Reira-dono is stubborn. I'm not sure how we can make her see reason. I've explained to her the risks before, but she values the Fourth a lot. I suppose some of it stems from the things he has done for her over the years.

[showyouthesight]

[ Rin's gaze remains hard. ]

Something about taking away their hunger. It doesn't mean they won't starve if they don't eat though so it's ultimately pointless.

[ At the mention of Tsukikage's other ward, Rin's expression turns livid and he rounds on Tsukikage, grabbing at his front for whatever he can snatch. ]

Ron? Ron was a conduit too? You knew about this? Why the hell didn't you say anything?

[ Did Tsukikage seriously not trust him? Did he seriously think he'd attack children to save his precious park? ]

[intercalaryninja]

It means that they won't go on a human-mad rampage if they do starve. [He thinks about Yuzu and he sighs.] Reira-dono told me part of the reason why she wanted to do this was because of me.

[There's his shirt, and while Tsukikage could jump back or try fend Rin off, he doesn't. He merely stares, letting the much larger monster grab him.]

Ron ended up accidentally telling me a few weeks in. I found him coming back through the arcade with several cuts from an accident he had in the basement of wherever he was corrupting.

[Tsukikage shakes his head.] I didn't say anything because I was trying to make sure Ron didn't leave the house. [He didn't say anything because he was busy.] He was determined to go pray, so he kept sneaking out. The fact he can turn into a liquid didn't make things easier for me. [Ron being a conduict also distracted him from the fact Reira was one too.]

Also I was dead for a few days. That makes it difficult for communications. [He's not even joking]

[showyouthesight]

[ Rin releases his shirt at that last part, his eyes widening. ]

Dead? Who killed you?

[ He can get back to the rest of that in a moment. ]

[intercalaryninja]

The really crazy child that was advocating for the death of the conduits. Paul, I think his name was. He had gone online and told Ron to meet him at the park. Ron thankfully had the sense to tell me. We went under the impression we were meeting one of Ron's friends... However it was him accompanied by a female gargoyle.

[showyouthesight]

That kid killed you?

[ He knows Paul can be a little impulsive, especially during the conduit chaos. But he never expected him to just kill anyone he came across, regardless of whether they were even aligned. He's not even sure what he's feeling right now. There's anger, sure. But also an ugly conflicted sensation twisting inside him. Paul killed Tsukikage. But Paul's a child. How's he supposed to respond to that? He can't attack a kid. This is all so messed up. ]

[intercalaryninja]

I suppose more accurately, the gargoyle did. Paul himself was... preoccupied. Ron is quite adept himself in a fight. [He does realise what he says now is very important, so Tsukikage takes a moment, wondering what parts he's supposed to share.]

It just part of the battle, in the end. They wanted to take out a conduit. I wanted to protect Ron. It could have been worse, all things considered. Ron survived, the others did too, thankfully. So it's... fine.

[showyouthesight]

Which gargoyle?

[ The way he snarls it suggests that giving him an answer might not go especially well for Tsukikage's killer. And Rin had met a few gargoyles during the course of his interrogations. ]

[intercalaryninja]

I'm not sure. I've never met them before, so it wasn't Yuzu. At least Yuzu would listen to reason. [Actually, he doesn't believe that at all, but he'd like to think that Yuzu wouldn't kill him for the sake of her god.]

Rin. Honestly, it's alright. [He'll reach out to put a hand on the man's shoulder. This is why he didn't tell anyone else in the house that he perished and made Ron promise not to tell.] Everyone was on edge for that event, and for good reason. Please do not go out and do anything rash. The last thing we need is to instigate another cycle of revenge.

[showyouthesight]

[ Rin swats him away. ]

Like hell it is. I don't care how on edge anyone is. That doesn't give them the right to kill you for protecting your son!

[ He hates this place revenge cycles, hates how pointless they are in a world where nobody can truly die. But in this moment of red hot rage, it's hard not to give into that desire to hurt others as they have hurt his friend. All of his fury toward Tsukikage for keeping the fact that his children were conduits a secret from him is drowned out in his fury that someone would kill a parent defending their child. ]

[intercalaryninja]

If you rephrase that to 'having the right to kill me for protecting a conduit' then some would argue they did have that right.

[Tsukikage is calm. He pulls his hand back and he looks at Rin, feeling a little guilty for diverting his anger for some reason. His hand habitually picks the scabs on his arm through the bandages, trying to focus himself.]

An eye for an eye makes the world blind. I've made my peace with it, Rin. There's no need to chase either of them down. If there was a need to make them hurt, I would have. It's alright.

[showyouthesight]

As if you care enough about yourself to do that.

[ Rin grumbles it under his breath. He knows how Tsukikage sees himself. Tsukikage's dream revealed more than enough to ascertain that. ]

You need to get that bastard away from your kids before he fucks them up any worse.

[intercalaryninja]

Ah? [Since they're not that far apart, Tsukikage can catch some of the thing Rin is muttering, and that admittedly catches him a little off-guard, the ninja not have expected that from his friend. However, he tries to shake it off quickly.]

He has not bothered us since Mana put her announcement up, and I have set up other safeguarding measures for both of them. There's no need for other unnecessary things.

[showyouthesight]

[ Rin decides to table that for the moment. That Tsukikage caught some of it is good enough. ]

What sort of safeguarding measures? And what do you consider unnecessary?

[intercalaryninja]

New house rules. The kids aren't allowed to leave without someone accompanying them. I also have refreshed their magic links to me, so I know fully well where they are and what condition they're in. They're also now supposed to carry the tools to put up my blood shield, should I not be with them. There are other things, but those are the biggest changes.

Murder. Torture. Dismemberment. Suffering of any kind. [Because that's exactly the sort of thing that leads to trouble. Don't try anything, Rin...]

[showyouthesight]

[ Those do sound like decent precautions, although he's not sure how he feels about blood magic. Still, desperate circumstances call for desperate measures and he can't think of any children more in need of foolproof tracking than Reira and Ron. ]

What makes you think I was even considering any of those options? I'm after the fake gods, not their followers.

[ Now, whether he would like to see some of those things done to them... that's another story entirely. ]

[intercalaryninja]

[And even then sometimes it isn't enough. He's considered asking Mana for teleportation so he can specifically get to his kids faster.]

I worry in general. Sometimes people have very misdirected anger. It's a catchall. [He sighs quietly.] If you find a way to strike at them, let me know. I'm sure there are many of us that feel the same way.

[showyouthesight]

That's the thing. We don't know how many of us actually feel that way. We don't even know how many followers there actually are. We need a means of getting that information. And a means of gathering everyone who's fed about it.

I'm tired of just letting this shit happen over and over again. At least the followers have some protection.

[intercalaryninja]

Then naturally we should do something about it, shouldn't we? [Tsukikage says it, but the weight in his voice makes it clear he knows this is something serious. He has ideas, but they require a lot of dedication.]

I can tell you for a fact a few more who fervently deny gods and want peace... Actually, a few days ago, I talked to Percy about this matter in particular. [Maybe four or five days now that he thinks about it.] He's on our side for one. Interestingly, he managed to get a lot of attention and got a lot of people to go to the GSA meeting.

Like-minded people will be drawn to things if there is something established. If we had something to draw people who feel as we do, that would give us a better scale of things. In terms of followers, it'll be trickier to figure things out, especially since it seems that followers don't even know each other.

... I am as well. It's why I want to do something about it so we don't have to continue to suffer.

[showyouthesight]

I heard a little bit about that meeting. But that meeting was open to everyone, including followers. We can't risk followers getting word back to their leaders.

But what can we offer people that comes anywhere close to what Elias and the Fog Bitch can? It doesn't matter if most of it is lies, they give people some sense of control over their lives. How can we offer that?

[intercalaryninja]

Hmm... That does make it a bit more problematic... I'll consult Mana for that, actually. She has very good ideas. Percy too. He might have a more secret way about going about these things... [Tsukikage ponders if he can somehow upgrade his blood magic to detect alignments. He can already do it for a vast amount of statistics. Why couldn't he do it for determining if someone was a Fourth or a Fog? That would be incredibly useful.]

The Fog offers power and security, and people join because they feel freedom through the expression of monster forms. Elias' main gimmick is to offer friendship and a way to fight the Fog, and people join to make themselves feel not so helpless. In all honesty, the best we can offer is collaborative support, because while we cannot provide the power that the Fog provides, we certainly could protect those who need it a lot better. And Elias'... while his last few attempts have been... of questionable success, his followers don't really fight the Fog God like he promises. They just help Elias get power.

Training, for one. Open knowledge sources, perhaps a subset of the network to help people stay informed. Ways to monitor feeding and minimise it. We don't even have to lie, Rin. We just have to attack the enemy's weakest points.

[showyouthesight]

I know a place we can use. Hijikata kept it well hidden. But he trusted me enough to let me know where it was. He spent a lot of time gathering information about the factions. I'd like to ensure his work doesn't go to waste.

[ His tone grows quieter, softer as he discusses his old mentor. He has no idea how he'll be able to live up to Hijikata's role, but he has to try. There's nobody else anymore and this meant so much to Hijikata. ]

I think people would find value in a strong guarantee of protection and anything that helps them regain control of their lives so they don't feel jerked around.

[ That's what Rin yearns for anyway. ]

I don't plan to lie to anybody. I want to offer something better those bastards.

You think training will really protect people against the high leveled followers?

[intercalaryninja]

That would be useful. I have less hidden places in mind in terms of open spaces, so we may have to use that location. Also your information though would prove invaluable.

[He understands the reverence of this person and Tsukikage would like to help.]

We have to tell them we cannot guarantee it, but we can definitely give them a little more control. At least so they can go to bed and know they won't be stolen out of it.

[Tsukikage gives a nod.] Against higher level followers? Absolutely. We may not be able to give them powers, but we can teach them how to use their bodies and more importantly their minds. [As much as embracing the Fog God's gift hurts him, Tsukikage knows it would be foolish to not use everything at their disposal.] I know what to prepare for. I can even arm them, if we want to go that far. I still make a number of weapons in the old Japanese style after all. My swordsmithing has improved of late. [Using a hammer drowns out the voices in his head.]