It's early evening and Jia's relaxing out of the house on the steps. After her conversation with Norie earlier and the inability to sleep for long still being an issue, the quiet ambiance of the shrine is just what she needs. She's got a box of incense with her for after and she's leaning on her umbrella in case it rains, which she's currently using to prop her head up with. She's got her phone out, she's made the phone call to Kukai and asked to meet up and now she's just waiting.
She's been there for quite a while, having dozed off after scheduling something much later. When she comes back around, feeling much better, she stands up, stretches out and settles back down in place while pulling her phone out to read messages, then the news once she's caught up. Clothingwise, she's wearing a loose amber colored blouse and a long black skirt .
Kukai eyes his phone for a moment after hanging up on the call with Jiaying. Meet her? Out at the shrine? He looks around his room - hooray for nights off - and then shrugs, pulling on a tshirt and his sneakers. He heads out of his room and towards the door, only to run into his big brother Unkai, who waves. "Hey. Where are you going? It's starting towards evening." Kukai grins and waves his phone at the blonde. "Going out to meet a girl, actually." Unkai arches an eyebrow, but then steps to one side. "Ok, but I'm thinking that you'll have a lot of explaining to do to a particular set of long purple hair." He moves to one side, letting the blushing Kukai out towards the door.
It doesn't take too long for Kukai to reach the shrine, showing up just about the time Jiaying wakes back up. He watches her for a moment, then coughs, approaching from the side. "Hey. I didn't think it took me that long. Have you not been sleeping good?" Daichi is floating over Kukai's shoulder, and waves to Jiaying, peering over her shoulder curiously.
Jiaying Maki hadn't really been expecting him on time, but she's the sort that's only on time when someone else is prodding her to do so. Halfway through her stretch, Kukai calls out to her and she makes a startled sound and shimmers strangely, though for once doesn't completely drop her disguise. Sitting back down quickly, she smiles and tries to cover! "I've been here since I gave you a call. I just wanted a nap before." Wait, that's not much of a cover.
"Took a trip, didn't like what I saw, been having weird dreams since." which is a quick way of saying she went on a ride to the Dusk Zone and it didn't settle well. If he knew what she looked like before, she looks better now though after her nap. She returns the wave to the floating pixie-thing and adds, "Thanks for coming though- Turns out someone else recommended you for a problem. First Sora for healing and now Norie suggested you for information on Shiniko." at least she's up front about it!
Kukai blinks as Jiaying seems to.... vibrate, just a little. "...Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you. And that's ok. Naps are good, I guess." He smiles and goes over to sit besides her.
Kukai hmms, then nods. "May need to take a trip somewhere nice, then, get your mind off things. That's what I'd suggest, anyway. And sure, I'm happy to try and help. You look better, did someone call and help you?"
He rubs his chin, thinking. "Shiniko, huh? Well... Yeah, I've run into her a few times. It's a long story, but I don't mind sharing it. Whatever you want to talk about, though, I'm happy to go over it with you. What all's on your mind?"
Jiaying Maki looks down, looks over her shoulder, then pats her head down at the strange look she received. There's a subtle, but noticeable sigh of relief. "It's okay, I slept through my phone alarm anyway."
The suggestion of taking a trip gets a slight shudder from her, since that's how she's been describing the trip to the Dusk Zone. "That may be a good idea. Head south and visit other parts of Japan or take a trip to old Edo. Or back to Taiwan for a week or two, that would be nice." Once she's settled back on the steps, she rests her hands and chin on the umbrella and shakes her head. "No one contacted me at all outside of my normal group of friends, sorry."
Finally, the mention of Shiniko. "I have run into her a few times as well. The first time hurt quite a bit, the second time only a little- The reason I'm asking is because Norie has asked me to help her since she's getting worse? Sora agrees and wants to help her too. Neither of them are talking though-" She trails off, gathering her thoughts and adds quickly, "I'm not sure what you'll have noticed that I haven't seen from the fights, but I think you're more experienced here so any information is good."
Kukai chuckles. "I do that all the time." The shudder brings a look to his eyes of questioning. "That bad a trip, huh? It must have been somewhere bad. I'm sorry. But... yeah, go take Sora and visit other parts of Japan, trail around, have some fun." The note that noone contacted her makes Kukai roll his eyes. "I'll see if I can't light a fire under some people. I'm sorry about that."
Kukai nods, then sits back. "Shiniko started out... ok, but yeah, I can agree she's been getting steadily worse and worse. Something about the way she deals with the people she encounters - she's more and more hostile every time I see her, but she thinks she's performing justice. And I mean most of the people she fights against are evil, but she started working with this one guy, Riventon? He is like the physical embodiment of evil. Also the physical embodiment of 'i want to punch him in the face'." Kukai idly rubs the knuckles on his right hand with his left, grimacing at the thought of Riventon. "He is not a good person."
"But the general idea is that Shiniko wants to do good, but she's using really evil, dark powers and methods to do it, and it's dragging her further and further into evil." He thinks for a moment. "The thing most of us tend towards is that the vast majority of the intelligent beings that we fight can be saved, that redemption is something worth doing. She just wants to punish over and over without seeking that."
Jiaying Maki slumps forward and says, "It kind of was It's getting easier, here anyway. I might need to sneak out and sleep outdoors for a while or something." The eye roll is missed, but his tone isn't as he says his piece. "I'm healing slowly, but surely. I appreciate it, but if they don't want to help, they don't want to help. I'll just remember that if it ever goes the other way." She sighs and adds, "I'd still probably help. It's why I'm going crazy trying to help Shiniko even if you're the only one telling me any kind of details."
Listening quietly to the story, the mention of Riventon gets a grimace. "I've heard that name and- I'm glad I made the right call not to go with Norie to that group for healing. Shiniko works for him too, I knew that. He's also the most likely candidate for a way to keep her from escaping the Dusk Zone." Oh hey a name drop. There's that shudder again too.
"So you think the power she's using is dragging her down. Norie- she agreed with me that it may be best to just burn the evil out of her. But she also didn't want me hurting her too much. I don't... really know what to do there." Now it's just her chin on the umbrella. "I try to give everyone more than once chance. I wouldn't be here without those kind of chances in the family history, you know?"
Kukai nods and reaches over, patting Jiaying's back. "I know what you mean. Nightmares are awful. I know from heart." He nods. "Yeah. Well. I would do it myself but I'd probably cause more trouble than I fixed. So. Also! Yeah. I wish I knew more about Shiniko. She only pops up when she thinks there's justice that needs to be done, I think. But that doesn't make much sense, so..." He arches an eyebrow. "To keep her from escaping the Dusk Zone? Who's stuck in the Dusk Zone?"
He nods again. "Yeah. I don't think she's using it right or something - she's said it's not evil before, but she just keeps getting darker and darker. I don't think anybody wants to hurt her, but a good light explosion or two might be what she has to have to get her head cleared. I dunno. We tried that with Norie once or twice and all it seemed to do was make her darker." He sighs. "Yeah, I know. Forgiveness and redemption are divine."
Jiaying Maki eventually shrugs and says, "You know, I thought I was past nightmares. You deal with ghosts long enough, you think you're... not immune to it, but not as shocked by horror right?" She shakes her head and smiles sleepily. "It is getting easier slowly though. She's not stuck there. She can go there. We ran into her there so I can verify that she was there, on her own, intentionally."
There's a pause, then she looks over and asks, "You've talked with her before? I mean really talked to Shiniko? She's been too... strange every time I've run into her. Except one time where I tried to blindside her because she was draining a courthouse." Erh, there's a confused look, "Anyway! I know you've tried it with Norie, that was one of the first things she mentioned when I started researching into trying to help her. She thinks it will work on Shiniko though. Maybe, though painful."
Kukai looks at her for a moment, then reaches over, hugging the girl tightly and comforting her. He holds her for a moment, then leans back. "For a while I was... well. My ..." He stops. "Do you remember the really, really, really bad tornado that hit some time back? It was a giant Witch, really, called Walpurgisnacht. That was the first time I ever knew there was really more than just... Chara Eggs and things around. I helped Mami and the others fight a few little things when we first met, but there was a party, and I met a lot of nice girls, and... then a bunch of them died, outright, in the storm. And I had nightmares about it for weeks and eventually had to face them with some help. But with some help, I got over them. So I know you can get over your nightmares too. And if you need some help, I'll help you."
He leans back, then nods. "Yeah, I've talked to her a few times, back when she first showed up. She... Even then I knew she was in deep. She likes hurting people who hurt others, and she likes doing evil, naughty things, and she doesn't care who she's working with or helping or anything like that. It's not good. As for hitting her with light energy... well." He sighs. "I don't have that. I have lightning, not light, not positive. But it would probably be a good thing." He grumbles a bit. "I sort of wish Amu was still around to do healing and light energy stuff, but she's got her own life to live and so.."
Jiaying Maki squirms almost immediately at the tight hug across her shoulders, the bandage she's wearing probably immediately noticeable. There's also a sharp intake of air and she tries to pull free. Letting her breath out she says softly, "I appreciate the sentiment, really. That's why Sora wanted me to find a healer though." It probably didn't do anything too bad though, what with it having been healing on it's own albeit slowly.
Shakily she says, "I wasn't here for the giant tornado- I was still living in Taiwan I bet." The talk about the nightmares gets Kukai a hug from Jia though, albeit a somewhat stiff hug.
"I can do light, I can't do healing. I can also do dark, but- That doesn't come up very often. Most of the things I've fought are already steeped in the dark. Mostly I just use it to balance out ghosts when I'm dealing with them." She looks over her shoulder, into her shadow where a pair of eyes blink a few times. "So she's always liked hurting others though. That reminds me of some family..."
Kukai eeps and winces, pulling back from the hug as she squirms and sucks in air, feeling the bandage. "Oooh, crap. crap. Um. Sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry. Iii.. yeah. But.. yeah." He nods and pats her arm. "Yeah. Healer. Definitely. Maybe I can get Nagihiko's aunt to make some more of her ointment. I have to use that sometimes, if nothing else."
He nods and hugs her back, this time more gingerly around the middle. "Yeah, it's been almost a year ago." He nods. "I can't do light or dark. Which may be good in the long run. And yeah, most everything I fight is similarly dark." He sighs and nods. "Yeah. As far as I know, Shiniko's always liked making other people hurt when she thinks they deserve it. Which is bad."
Jiaying Maki rolls her shoulders and settles back down, trying not to let it show that she was kind of hurt by the hug. She's also trying to tuck her tail away, her illusion having haywired briefly. It's gone almost as soon as it was visible thouugh. "That might help at least, sure."
She closes her eyes, leaning against her umbrella while thinking quietly about what needs to be done. "Maybe if I seal the room she won't be able to escape into the Dusk Zone and get away, then we just have to endure her attacks until it's all burned out?" There's a frown though. "She'll probably be able to sense my wards though. Might need to research that. Makes me feel less about about hurting her in the long run though I guess."
Kukai doesn't notice the tail, paying more attention to her settling down. "Yeah. Yeah. OK. So... " He listens to her talk about sealing the room. "You... don't want to tell her that you talked to me. Shiniko doesn't like me at all. She already attacked me once a few months ago, and we've fought a couple times since then. But.. yeah. There's no telling what she can do. You may want some help - but she'd be on guard around me."
Jiaying Maki gently pats Kukau's back at the mention that she shouldn't say she talked to him. "I don't usually tell the people trying to be evil my cunning plans, just saying." Though she does offer him a smile after. Leaning back, resting her hands on the steps she thinks to herself for a few moments. "Did she ever give a reason for not liking you?" That's kind of an odd sticking point. "I would think she just dislikes anyone against her in general. I know she doesn't particularly like me, not that she even remembers me usually."
Kukai chuckles and then nods. "Yeah, it usually is them telling us their awful plans." He leans back with her, thinking about nothing major until she asks her question. "Well... Sky Jack had a few arguments with her about being too hostile and forceful, and I fought her once or twice when she was working with Riventon, but... that's more 'comes with the job', you know? As for real dislike..." He leans back. "Well. She seemed to have a personal hate-on for me when Nadeshiko called everyone together to force me to fight Daichi. It's a long story, but it made everyone including Sora wonder if I'd been flirting or been kind to them because of him. Sora ran off, and then Shiniko showed up and was like 'YOU ARE AGAINST JUSTICE' and shot me with some kinda dark magic and damn it hurt a ton for a long time. So... maybe that? I dunno why that would have upset her so much though."
Kukai nods. "It seems to be something about me in particular. Maybe because I keep running into her at cross purposes?"
Jiaying Maki glances over and says, "She just rambles about justice and that kind of thing." She then shakes her head and watches Kukai from the corner of her eye, "Sora says she knows and is friends with Shiniko too. She probably went to whoever it was and... that explains that." She runs her fingers through her hair before asking, "Is Sky Jack the one with soccer balls? I saw him- I don't know any of those other names at all though really."
She tilts her head curiously at the last question and considers it. "I still think it's just because Sora and her are friends. She won't tell me who it actually is so that I can help though."
Kukai nods, grinning. "Yeah... that's what it sounds like. Shiniko, rambling, half infected with shadow magic." He sighs. "Yeah, Sora said she knew her, but..." He nods. "And.. yeah, Sky Jack is the one with soccer balls." He eyes Jiaying for a moment, then nods. "It's probably one of the worst kept secrets in magical hero history but... that's me. Sky Jack. So..." He shrugs, leaning back.
Kukai twists his mouth slightly. "Ugh. Well. Maybe so. I wish she would have - that would've made things a lot easier on us. Maybe we'll figure out eventually - or maybe after you lock her in a room and make the walls glow at her."
Jiaying Maki looks at the boy curiously, then says, "Nah I don't see it. Besides, not as bad as mine~ I'm terrible at hiding it because I was always terrible at illusions!" Then she leans forward, eyes closed. "I've tried to get both her and Norie to tell me and neither of them will even go near the subject and pushing it is just upsetting everyone. Which is why I'm here, now." She looks over, changing the subject briefly. "You were there at the jewelry store then right?"
Kukai chuckles and then nods. "Well hey, at least you have illusions to work with. All I've got is Daichi." This elicits a little fussy shout from the Chara and a grin from Kukai, who continues. "Well.. they're your friends. Don't upset them, if you can help it." He nods, then sits up. "Yeah. That was a thing, a serious thing. I'm surprised we kept as many gems as we did in all of that."
Jiaying Maki leans back against the stairs, using her elbows to keep her shoulders well clear of the stone. She smiles at the outburst from the smaller of the two and asks, "I know they're my friends, I try not to upset them. But they're clearly keeping a secret, but they also want me to help. It's like trying to do work with your hands behind your back and blindfolded."
She raps her knuckles on the ground a few times and says, "But, there's only so much you can do at that point. Which... is why Norie probably sent me to you."
Kukai nods, then sits up. "Well.. yup. So. Anything else you wanna ask? We should both get back before it gets too late." He nods up at the sky as the sun as gone all the way down, leaving them in that place just before night.
Jiaying Maki stands up as well, leaning on the umbrella for support as she does so before resting it on her shoulder. Taking a breath of that almost night air, she shakes her head and says, "No, no questions here. I think... I'm going to have to leave them haunted if I want answers, but I really don't want to do taht yet." She looks at Kukai curiously, "Did you have any questions?" If he doesn't, she'd drop her illusion as hse walks past, heading towards her apartment since he had given away his secret~
Kukai smiles and then nods. "OK. Well. I'm gonna head home. You have a good night, Jiaying. Don't let those nightmares get you down." He nods, then leans back for a moment as she walks past, growing fox ears, fox tail, and shiny eyes. ".... Huh." He hmms, reaching up to scratch the back of his head, before grinning and waving towards the back of her head, turning to head back home as well.