702/Who you gonna call! -Curse Hunters!

Who you gonna call! -Curse Hunters!
Date of Scene:	12 December 2015
Location:	Uminari City - Juuban Avenue - North
Synopsis:	Reiko goes to Ikiko for help with a doll's unlucky curse, and talk about Misa. Reiko wants to help! So does Ikiko!
Cast of Characters:	Reiko Touyama, Ikiko Hisakata

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Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama had come to Ikiko's home. The proper way! She knocked on the door and everything! She wanted to talk to Ikiko. She'd wait for whoever to answer, make it known that she's here to talk to 'kiko-chan and wait patiently.

She waits until she's in Ikiko's room and let's loose a cleansing breath. "Ugh...." she says. "Ikiko you're fine right?" she asks, waiting to hear the stepping down the hallway stop as she looks back over to Ikiko.

"Can we talk about the creepy doll?..." she mutters softly, looking down again finally, clasping her hands down in front of her.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata was somewhat surprised to hear that Reiko was here for a visit, but she quickly cleaned up some of the loose books and other minor messes before her friend arrived at her room.

"I'm... okay enough," she replies with a hint of a shrug. "Nothing that needs to be worried about for now, and I'm feeling better than I was."

Ikiko leans forward when Reiko mentions the doll. "Heard anything else about it?" she inquires. "I've been doing some research, but so far I've only found vague, general information."

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama sighs. "I've been waiting to get some charms from you ... or something before I try speaking to Misa--- the girl, about Maeko... the doll." she says softly. She closes her eyes and crosses her arms. "Sometimes I see something at my window in the mirror... sometimes it's just out of the corner of my eye. I hear giggles. So far..nothings happened, but..." she sighs.

"Still. It sounds like... Misa needs a friend. Even if...like. I have to deal with this. I just need something before I progress..." she mutters.

"Bad Luck, that's the key mostly. So.. stuff to coutneract that..." she says softly with a sigh.

"But that's all I know. I know Misa uses a 'cloaking' spell to mask her true nature- because she is absoultely brimming with 'dark energy', my crystal started to react to it and I felt that tingle to want to transform and everything..." she mutters. "Even if she's just sad and seems... transformed by that stupid doll..." she mutters.

"I don't.. mean. metaphorically. Misa is actually a /doll/. Her skin is hard... she has 'joints' like.. you'd expect a porcelin doll to have. She showed me. It's why she dresses so heavily despite the weather one way or another..."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata frowns slightly. "Charms to temper misfortune," she muses. "That shouldn't be too hard, at least for basic ones; I should be able to make one from the supplies in the house." While they might not be the family specialty, the Hisakatas do know the basics of dealing with curses other than lycanthropy. Because of that, materials that are often useful for alleviating common minor curses are usually on hand.

The description of Misa's physical state deepens Ikiko's frown. "Curses that have already significantly changed a person's body are often tough to resolve," she notes worriedly. "And with dark energy involved..."

She furrows her eyebrows in thought. "This is not going to be easy to deal with," the Curse Hunter admits. "And looking up more specific information is going to be tricky, since I'd have to keep certain things secret from my family, like how I was able to know certain things."

Ikiko gives Reiko an encouraging smile. "Not impossible, mind you; just not simple," she clarifies.

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama frowns and nods. "I know." she says. "I just need... something to start trying to be her friend. I...."

"She really needs one Ikiko-chan..." she mutters to herself. "She didn't even know how to talk to me. She... avoids everyone because of the jealous doll..." she says.

"But..."
"It hasn't scared me away! I just need some cautionary equipment now!" she insists, trying to put up a brave face!

"Then maybe I can learn more..." she says softly. She closes her eyes.

"So you can do that for me? Are you able to do it for me before I leave?" she asks with wide eyes. "Or does it take longer...?" she asks.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
There's a thoughtful pause. "I should be able to make a basic charm before you go," Ikiko finally nods. "It might not be the best, but it should reduce the effect of any bad luck placed on you. Then I can look into making something more effective for the situation; that one will likely take longer, both in research and materials."

She gives Reiko a hug. "You're brave and kind, Reiko-chan," she smiles. "I know you'll do your best, and that you'll help to make things better!"

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama nods and grins. "Good then! It's better than well... nothing!" she says with a smile. She looks down. "Misa said she already tried stuff like..ofudas on herself but they didn't do much good. The doll just laughed at her silly." she says with a sigh.

"She's been reading a lot of occult books trying to... find something." she mutters. "But.. Maeko makes that hard." she says.

She blushes. "Not that kind.. just. If anyone was in this mess I'd do my best to help." she says.

"She knows I'm like.. a magical girl. Which means Maeko does too. So that might be what's stopping Maeko from messing with me too hard so far." she says.

"I think that put Misa at ease, at least..."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata nods. "It takes a lot to block a curse at its focus," she agrees. "Ofuda are usually useful for protecting other things, but... well, it's like using a newspaper to keep from getting wet: it can work against a light rain, but it doesn't do much against a burst pipe."

She thinks a bit more. "I might be able to use your magic to reinforce the stronger charm," she muses. "Maybe. But I'll at least look into the arcanics involved with incorporating sources of power into charms and the like; maybe it'll turn up something useful!"

Another thought crosses the Curse Hunter's mind. "How long can you stay today, Reiko-chan?" Ikiko inquires.

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama thinks. "Well I can stay as long as I need to today I think? I need to go home at SOME point, but..." she mutters. "No time limit today. Nothing pressing or anything." she considers a bit as she taps her chin.

"Why is something on your mind?" she asks curiously head tilting a little as the girl fixes her glasses a moment.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata grins. "I was thinking about asking if you could stay for dinner? It'll be easier to make the basic charm if I don't have to be secretive about it," she explains. "I won't tell them everything, of course -- just that you've been noticing a significant amount of misfortune recently, and that you're worried about it. And as long as they know that I'm making the basic charm, I can take my time to do a good, thorough job on it."

She frowns slightly. "I'm pretty sure I can convince them to let me help out," she muses. "I'll just say that I mentioned that the family knows various folklore remedies, so they won't be as likely to worry about me spilling Curse Hunter lore to people unaware of magic."

A wry expression crosses her face. "I know that this secrecy is important, but all of these layers of hiding that I'm not hiding from something that I'm hiding..." She shakes her head. "It's nearly confusing at times."

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama smiles. "Sure! I can stay for dinner! Grandpa already cooked for himself, and parents are..." not eating at home. As usual. "So...! What are we having?" she asks with a smile. "So sure...if it makes it easier, I can stay!" she says as she flips her hair a bit.

She sighs a bit. "Yeah. I can pretend you're just helping me with something silly~" she grins. "I can play dumb easily enough!" she insists.

She head tilts. "Besides.. you said you didn't want your family to know, so!" she beams.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata nodnods! "We're having omelette-rice and salad," she mentions. "Simple and tasty, and easy to share! Go ahead and relax; I'll go talk to my family about making you that basic charm."

She heads out of her room and talks to her parents; they seem wary about letting others know about their knowledge, but seem encouraged by Ikiko taking an applied interest in Curse Hunter lore.

"Keeping an eye on your friend's misfortune is a good, simple project for practicing on," her father remarks approvingly. "Go ahead and help your friend, Iki-chan. Just remember: if it becomes too dangerous, be sure to ask for help!"

"Yes, dad," Ikiko smiles back. Of course she'll ask for help if this turns out to be too much for her alone!

She's just not likely to ask for help from her family.

Most of Ikiko's time before dinner is spent on making the misfortune-tempering charm, with the occasional help from some of her relatives. Finally, she returns to her room, charm in hand.

"Here you go, Reiko-chan," the young Curse Hunter smiles, sliding a small bracelet onto her friend's wrist. It seems to be made from string, yarn, an assortment of beads, and various other materials; while it's not exactly ugly, it also won't win any prettiness awards. "This will help lessen the effects of bad luck by spreading it out over time."

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama mmmm omelette-rice and salad. She waits as she lays down on Ikiko's bed and stares up at the ceiling. She felt safe here at least. Not like a doll was watching her. Though---Maeko probably knew trying to come here would be like suicide, right? Curse Hunters and all...

She thought about Misa and frowned more heavily. The poor girl... she felt so bad for her. Wishing there was something she could do to help. She'd try to be her friend first though. She mentioned parents...taken from her. Maeko said it was Misa's fault. This put a sinking feeling into her stomach. What did that mean exactly? Should she mention that to Ikiko?

....No.... Ikiko has a lot to worry about right now, with Ayana and all. Maybe... later. Not dump all the garbage on her at once. Oh! Ikiko returns and eyes the charm as she gently eyes it. She puts it on her wrist.

She doesn't feel different. Was she expecting something?

She huhs. "Well.. Thanks Ikiko!" she smiles. "Hopefully it'll work-- so it's like... running a hose through a funnel..it takes a big current and turns it into a small one?" she asks.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"Mmm, more like splitting a large sack of rice into several smaller bags," Ikiko clarifies. "Same amount of rice, and more trips to move all of it, but each one is lighter, and thus easier to bear."

She tries to think of an example. "Let's say that badluck would cause you to trip and fall hard," she explains. "With the charm, instead of one big trip, you'd have several small stumbles. Same total amount of falling, but not all at the same time -- and since you're only partially falling each time, you can then catch your balance and recover."

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama smiles. "Ah! I see. So it stilts it. Okay!" she says softly.

She smiles. "It'll help then! I can let Misa know I have some protection and hopefully she'll be willing to talk to me more!" she says.

She head tilts. "Is Dinner ready? This took a bit! And---" she says.

"I'm kind of hungry." she admits with a smile.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"Same here," Ikiko admits with a small giggle. "And I'll look into what it will take to make a charm specifically for protecting against the curse on Misa. Hopefully that will make it easier to eventually deal with the curse that's affecting her, since we can then focus on it!"

The voice of Ikiko's mom comes indistinctly through the door from elsewhere in the house. "I think that's the call to dinner," Ikiko notes. "Let's go wash up and head to the dining room!"