Latest revision as of 00:10, 11 October 2016

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
One constant at Seishou is that Ikiko Hisakata is generally cheerful and upbeat. Even when things aren't going well, there's generally a certain amount of upbeat that remains.

Today, though, her expression is best described as 'grim worry'. There's a bit of a murmur about school; word of her cousin's disappearance had started circling. Classmates who asked Ikiko about it were told "I don't know" with a tone that suggests that there's a bit more that she's not telling.

At lunch, she goes looking for someone -- someone who might know more than she does. And there she is...

Ikiko walks up. "Hi, Maki-san!" she smiles, although her voice isn't quite happy. "May I ask you a few things?"

Jiaying Maki has posed:
Jiaying Maki is sitting off to the side, eating alone and in general looking like she's trying to shut the rest of the class out of her own little world for the time being. Drumming her fingers on the table when someone intrudes on that, she sits up, looks over and adopts an immediately neutral face. One she would hope would be good enough to play mahjong with.

She doesn't return the smile, something that's definitely new and there's a look of consideration before she finally points to the seat opposite of hers and says, "Alright. Only if I get to ask you a few questions after." The tone of her voice is bordering on the verge between flat and frustrated too.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata nods after a moment. "Sounds fair," she agrees, taking the indicated seat. She glances around, then sighs. "I'd ask if you've seen my cousin recently, but it sounds like you have as much idea as I do as to where she is," she admits. "But I still have to ask: do you have any idea where she might have gone?"

Jiaying Maki has posed:
Jiaying Maki pokes idly at the food she'd packed along for lunch with her chopsticks, stirring it and obviously buying herself time. "I may have an idea of where she went. I wanted to know what happened to make her leave, since the last time I'd seen Sora, she was sick in bed though." She says this with the same flat tone, though one may get the sensation that she's trying to fish for some information.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"That's about how I remember seeing her last, too," Ikiko sighs. "I don't recall hearing anything from any of my relatives other than concern about her being sick, and Ayana doesn't interact with her any more than she absolutely has to."

She frowns slightly. "I do recall that, before she came down sick, that shadows were unusually active around her...?" Ikiko offers, carefully watching Jiaying. Feed the fishing, catch a fisherwoman?

Jiaying Maki has posed:
Jiaying Maki watches Ikiko quietly, her face still largely neutral, though there is a twitch about the shadows around her. "I'm surprised anyone in the family noticed, from everything I've heard." She sets her chopsticks down and intertwines her fingers while watching Ikiko. "Were they shadows, my kind of shadows or Ayana's kind of shadows?"

She puts the lid back on her lunch and pokes quietly at it, nudging it back and forth. "What do you think happened to her? That she was taken by someone?"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata shrugs slightly. "I only noticed them the once," she notes. "For what it looked like, it was only visible the one time, and it was only because she was feeling more annoyed with Ayana than usual."

And a frown. "As I recall, the most active shadow was the one directly connected to her, although all of the shadows in the area were being more active than usual," she adds. "And the activity went away when she walked away."

Jiaying Maki has posed:
Jiaying Maki frowns and says with a touch more emotion in her voice, "So you actually did keep an eye on her then. I always had the impression that she was largely left out of a lot of things- Someone else confirmed those suspicions too."

Slumping forward, she says, "Do you know who Norie is? She's not responsible, she's trying to help too." She adds that last part immediately, just so there's no chance to jump to conclusions. "I couldn't find her with any ghosts. Even h-" She trails off and shrugs.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"Well, given that our families live at the same apartment complex, it's not hard to see her there," Ikiko admits. "I don't tell her everything; I don't even tell my parents more than what's applicable for curses and such. My family does know that magic is a real thing -- my great-frandfather fought a werewolf, after all -- they just don't know how much magic there is."

There's a wry smile at the mention of Norie. "Yeah, I know Norie -- or Lacrima, as she's been calling herself," Ikiko notes ruefully. "Ayana had been trying to help her... but that's probably not relevant."

Jiaying Maki has posed:
Jiaying Maki twirls her finger and says, "You're not direct family I guess, it's unfair to pin it on everyone. She always marked me as... lonely though. And it came p you know?" She manages a confused look when she mentions her family knows magic is real, but not much beyond. "So they didn't set those wards up that I'm always worried about tripping- or my ghosts?"

She chews on her lip and says, "Norie, Lacrima's the other her- Something I Didn't realize we could split until last night. She's been trying to help Sora too. There's... a good reason for it too."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"The wards are small magic," Ikiko points out. "Good for deflecting malicious spirits, but not so effective at dealing with youma that can brawl with multiple magical girls. Small magic, they can do... but not as easily as an actual magical girl."

She perks up at the mention of splitting Norie and Lacrima. "Does... this mean that Sora-chan has an other her as well?" she asks cautiously. This might be the key thread to tie all of the seeming coincidences together...!

Jiaying Maki has posed:
Jiaying Maki scratches her chin and says flatly, "There's a condition to this Hisakata. You probably already guessed, but if she gets hurt because of this and no one tries to save her..." She scowls and looks down, running her fingers through her hair. "Yes. She does." She pinches the bridge of her nose as she says this and doesn't look up.

There is a sensation of some relief in being able to admit that though. Hopefully it doesn't go as wrong as everything else she's tried to fix lately. "I know who the other is too. That's why Norie's helping."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata reaches over and pats Jia's free hand. "I won't let my cousin be hurt," she says with quiet resolve. "From what Ayana's told me, being purified can be painful to go through, but as long as Sora's still in there, she should be fine afterwards."

She frowns with inquisitive concern, looking at the bandages. "By the way, what happened to your hand, Maki-san?

Jiaying Maki has posed:
Jiaying Maki holds her hand up and looks at the back of it, then the palm of her hand. "Shiniko's pets explode in cold ire. This is... the third time she's managed to get me with it. I'm getting tired of it- if I didn't know that it wasn't her normal self I'd even be upset with Sora for it."

She closes her fingers and adds softly, "Even if it hurts, it has to be done. Norie' afraid she'll become like her."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata nods sadly, both at the concern and at the confirmation of identity. "I'll make sure that anyone I work with knows that she needs to be healed, not destroyed," she promises. "She's my 'cousin, after all."

She looks up at the clock. "I should probably get back to my classroom," the younger girl notes, standing up. "Thanks for talking with me, Maki-san!"

Jiaying Maki has posed:
Jiaying Maki adjusts the bandage on her hands, using that as an excuse to hide any embarassing facial quirks. She waves to Ikiko and was about to say something, then she just shrugs and puts her head down. It's only then that she replies with a muffled voice, "Ayana has my phone number even if she thinks I'm... whatever the whim is this time. Send me a message and I'll let you know fi we find anything." There's a pause, "Make sure you kill all of her shadow creatures around town, especially the birds."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"I'll pass the word along," Ikiko nods before leaving Jia's classroom.

As she heads back to her own classroom, she thinks on what she's found out. Sora is Shiniko, in a manner of speaking. The shadow creatures are important to Shiniko. And Norie -- Norie! -- is worried that Sora might be subsumed by Shiniko.

Time to talk to a few friends and friends-of-friends. (After school, of course)