Patchwork Musings [OPEN]

[Kagami Ayasaki]

Kagami was sitting in the Red Moon Cafe as today was an off-day and she had already finished her workout session for the time, so she was relaxing with some hot tea that she had bought a while ago. Kagami herself was dressed in black dress pants with a sleeveless vest over a smart long-sleeved blouse. Very smart in wear though it seemed to accentuate her curves this time around though she wasn't what you would exactly call very well-endowed. Kagami elicited some strange looks from some girls seated at another table - it was the eyepatch, wasn't it? Kagami sighed and looked back at the newspaper she was reading. More reports of missing persons. Kagami sighed and tried seriously to think about the basis of these reports. She had been able to console the woes of older women who have lost their friends and kids to whatever it was that was going on here, but a part of her secretly wondered if she should get a deeper insight into what was going on.

It would serve as a good distraction from her mother, too.

She sipped her tea and continued reading in peace.

[Tetsuya Horokeu]

Tetsuya found himself in front of the store once again. This time a lot more at ease. Since he started to come here more frequently, it was easier for him to find the courage to actually go inside. Even after the few mishaps during his previous visits, he felt comfortable there. Maybe it was the tea. It was definitely the tea. He could remember his nervousness vanish after a sip. It helped that the tea was also good for him. he mostly came after shopping for groceries, but today was more of a treat day. 

He opened the door and a familiar sound followed. The place was really becoming a home to him. He looked around for a table. His usual spot was being taken by a group of girls. He could kiss that table away. He wasn't brave, smooth, or crazy enough to ask to sit them. So he opted to look for another table. One table in particular caught his attention. Seated there was a girl with shinning silver hair and an eye patch. 

Eye patch...eye patch....why does she seem so familiar?


He finally came to a sudden realization that he indeed knew the girl. She was a 3rd year at his school. He had met her along with a few other 3rd years not to long ago. Maybe he could sit with her. If she didn't mind. He had to hurry and make up his mind, before he started to get nervous.

Ah I'll at least go say hi. But, what was her name again...? I can't just say 'Hi eye patch senpai.' What was her name. Ka-Kagamine! That was it.


Without a thought he walked over to her to say hi. This was completely against his usual demeanor, maybe it was because he became so used to embarrassing  situations at Red Moon that he was just immune to it. Whatever it was he managed to make it there without even tripping. A new record!

"Hey Kagami," he half shouted as he walked towards her table.

[Kagami Ayasaki]

Kagami put down the newspaper she was reading when the voice of a boy around her age called to her and appeared to want to sit with her. Kagami nodded and waved back albeit weakly. "Hello," Kagami answered back politely and tried to recall this boy's name - oh, he was that kid who tripped himself up the first time 'round. "You must be Tetsuya-san. Hey. You can sit here if you like" Kagami continued, taking a sip of her tea.

"Do you read or watch the news? There's more report of missing persons lately," Kagami said, pointing to the newspaper she had just put down. "Isn't that a bit worrying? I don't really believe or take stock in what the government says they're doing about it. Do you find this scary?" Kagami asked, still with all of this fresh in her mind. She was really intent on getting to the bottom of it at some point.

[Tetsuya Horokeu]

Tetsuya quickly took the invitation and sat across from Kagami. Everything was kind of surreal. Him interacting with others? He laughed in his head at the thought. The mood in reality, however, was a tad bit more serious. He was shocked at her question. He wasn't really into the news, seeing as it had no concern to him, but even he knew of the mass disappearances. Everyone did. He usually never thought about it.

"I don't really pay attention to the news, but yeah there has been a lot more disappearances lately." He furrowed his brow, "Now that I think about it the something feels off about the city. And the animals are restless as of late." He thought back to yesterday when he was feeding the birds, they payed little attention to him, and just sat motionless staring at the sky. "I don't know what the government is saying, but I do know that nature doesn't lie. And I'm not really scared, more concerned I guess. Whatever it is, it's horrible enough to frighten gods."

 

[Kagami Ayasaki]

Kagami blinked as the boy said he doesn't really pay attention to the news but noticed the recent disappearances. Then he began to spout some words about nature. Kagami surmised he must be one of those kids who are really into nature. Not necessarily a hippie, but someone who was more comfortable with animals than actual people. That must have explained his awkwardness in groups. Kagami herself was alright with it, but did prefer more personal conversations with people. She seemed to do better with clients at work who were alone rather than those who came in groups.

"I see, so you believe in that kind of thing," Kagami simply said. "I never really formed any spiritual beliefs, but I respect them. It's definitely a concern. I plan to look into this matter personally, even if it's a dangerous task. Too many poor married women have lost their friends and kids to this phenomenon. I can't imagine how they must feel to lose a child or a close friend." Kagami said, sighing.

[Tetsuya Horokeu]

Tetsuyas eyes widened at what Kagami said. Spiritual beliefs? Oh gods I talked about kamuis. He could feel his face blushing. Usually he never talked about his culture or beliefs. It just made life a lot easier. No one questioned him or called him weird. Was just simpler that way. Well he guessed this was a different situation. She said she respected it, so he felt a little better. But she was too caught up in the recent disappearances around town. Yeah it certainly was a big deal, but what did it have to do with him? What could they do about it? 

You're such a coward. How can someone like you be a king?

Even though he hated to admit it, his conscious was right. It was his job to please the gods and protect the nature, and he never even thought about investigating it.  The idea just never crossed his mind. He looked at Kagami. She was willing to investigate because she see the pain in others. She's selfless and brave. Unlike him. He saw how strangely the animals had been acting yet he chose to ignore it. 

"You're really selfless and brave, wish I could be like that," he muttered while lowering his head. "In any case what do you plan on doing? It's not like there's any clues or anything." 

[Kagami Ayasaki]

"Selfless? I don't think so," Kagami chuckled sheepishly but looked a little pained. "I'm pretty selfish, I think. A lot of what I do and plan to do is to try and run away from that which really hurts and pains me. But then, that's nobody's business but my own." Kagami smiled weakly, gently stroking her eyepatch. "Anyway, what do I plan on doing? I'm going to ask around and try and collect rumours. You said that nature doesn't lie. If the animals are more restless as of late, even if it might not be a belief we share, there could be more to the story than what we see on the surface." Kagami continued.

"What could cause the restlessness of the animals, then? Something unnatural to animals is scaring them, making them deviate from their usual behaviors. Let's start there."

[Tetsuya Horokeu]

Tetsuya couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. He obviously brought up some unwanted memories from Kagami's past. He knew the feeling oh too well. He grabbed his right arm. He could still feel the pain. Tuning back into the conversation what Kagami said was, interesting to say the least. She actually believed him when he talked about the animals. This was new to him. "W-wait you believe me? You're not gonna call me weird or say that I'm a freak or anything?" he said shocked.

He wasn't sure if he preferred being believed or called a freak. Both were equally awkward for him. "W-well you can't just go around talking to animals, mostly because they're wary of most people," he said trying to compose himself. 

Say it you it you know you want to. You're just as curious as she is. You said it yourself, what can make a god fear? Don't you want to see it?


"I-I guess I can help you, seeing as you don't seem the type to talk to animals," he said jokingly. 

[Kagami Ayasaki]

Kagami blinked. "Why would I call you weird or call you a freak? Even if I thought that was weird, I'm in no position to make judgments" Kagami pointed at her black eyepatch. "It's not like people think I'm normal either."

When Tetsuya pointed out that Kagamin didn't seem like the type to talk to animals, she simply laughed. "Well, maybe I don't. I occupy my time with other things, though nature is beautiful, too. You consider yourself one with kamui, right? Then please help me figure this out. It might seem farfetched or silly, but I want to find any possible hints. The human senses are only so great, animals possess better senses than us in other respects" Kagami continued, finishing her tea.

[Tetsuya Horokeu]

Tetsuya laughed. He guessed she was right. He could imagine the reactions she gets with that eye patch. He scratched the back of his head and gave a small smile. "I-I guess you could say that..." Still, even he thought interrogating animals was, for lack of a better word, weird. It wasn't like he could completely understand animals. Have an affinity towards them? Yes. Able to understand emotions and body language? Yes. Talk to them? No, well not directly translate. He guessed it wouldn't hurt to try, but he doubted they'd actually get anywhere with it.



"I-I guess we can try it. Realistically, however, I don't think we'll get much from it," he chuckled, "Not like I can speak animal or anything."

[Kagami Ayasaki]

"Well, you know, I think it's worth a try," Kagami shrugged. "If it doesn't work out, it's not a big deal. Not the end of the world or anything. I'll just find some different clues or a different lead. What you said isn't entirely an impossibility" Kagami continued, folding up her newspaper and putting it aside.

"Whether you can actually speak with animals or not, it's clear to me you seem to be able to understand them on some level, even if admittedly I could not tell to what extend your understanding lies therein," Kagami sighed. "So, lighten up a little and give yourself some credit"

[Tetsuya Horokeu]

"I-I guess you're right." He tried to give a small grin. He couldnt ignore the creeping feeling in the back of his neck. This could be highly dangerous, but he couldn't just let her do it alone. Ha, who was he to try to protect someone when he was barely sure if he could protect himself from it. "Well, when and where do you wanna start?" 

[Kagami Ayasaki]

"I don't know," Kagami shrugged. "You tell me where to start. I'm free on certain days of the week when I don't have work. I definitely have work on weekends, so it'd have to be on a weekday. Like a Monday after school or sommat," Kagami continued. "I don't know where there would be many animals aside from the obvious places, that seems like your field of expertise doesn't it?"

"In any case, what even brings you here? You like to chill here alone?"