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Post by Horiuchi Nadeshiko on Mar 7, 2018 0:39:43 GMT -5
Nade stepped over to the saisenbako (offering box) then, still talking as she picked a coin from her pocket and tossed it into the slatted thing.
"There was an image in the corner... it was a house and a number. It was really quite simple and the police realized they were too busy trying to do things the old ways to notice it. I did the work on it, I had it enlarged and I matched some objects in the background with local landmarks. It brought us down to the exact neighbourhood the kidnappers were using."
She reached up to pull the bell cord then, letting it ring once before she bowed twice before the shrine and then clapped twice. Her eyes closed for a long moment before she bowed once more and pulled back.
"You don't need to do this part like me, I'm the one asking Emma-o for respect after all...."
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Post by Daidoji Kobushi on Mar 7, 2018 0:49:18 GMT -5
Kobushi performs it without hesitation. Once he's done, all he offers is a simple explanation. "We all die sometime."
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Post by Kuni Hinata on Mar 7, 2018 1:41:44 GMT -5
Hinata nodded, then performed the same ritual. She was a Crab, it was far from the first time she had to honor the Fortune of Death.
"Indeed. One must always honor the fortune of death, for you never know when he may embrace you."
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Post by Tamori Yoshi on Mar 7, 2018 6:35:30 GMT -5
"We're asking on both our own behalf and yours, Nadeshiko-chan," Yoshi tells her as he follows suit with Kobushi and Hinata. He smiles at both of the others, knowing that even if it hadn't been their original intent, they wouldn't object to his interpretation of them doing so in support of the woman who brought them all here.
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Post by Horiuchi Nadeshiko on Mar 7, 2018 14:39:40 GMT -5
Nade motioned for Kobushi to take the bucket then while grabbing the small bundle of cleaning supplies. She starts to walk down the stone path between family graves then, going slowly so she can talk and finish her story before arriving at their destination.
"Rokugan numbers are funny though. They're unique compared to a lot of languages out there in the world. We could play a trivia game but I'll just tell you. A lot of Rokugan numbers are... symmetrical. They look the same back and forth. If you put 34 in a mirror it looks like 43... and with how we build neighbourhoods... well... I got it wrong."
She pauses then, gripping the stuff in her arms before she takes in a deep breath.
"The police arrived and the family living at the house was very surprised. Extremely surprised when their dinner was interrupted. The commotion could be heard a block down where the kidnappers actually were. They panicked, they were new to this and before anyone figured out the problem they had killed the hostage."
She turned to start walking down the row of family markers.
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Post by Kuni Hinata on Mar 7, 2018 14:53:42 GMT -5
"Oh..."
Hinata followed Nadeshiko, unable to think of what to say. She could not imagine how that must have felt; how it must still feel. She wanted to help her friend, but she was unsure how. One could not change the past. All she could do was be here with her as she coped with it in her own way.
"...I am sorry."
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Post by Daidoji Kobushi on Mar 7, 2018 15:16:11 GMT -5
Kobushi keeps quiet. He doesn't know how his friend feels. He can only guess at he himself would react for his failure. He is solemn as he follows along, but positions himself to offer support for anything she might need.
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Post by Tamori Yoshi on Mar 7, 2018 15:25:50 GMT -5
Yoshi has difficulty keeping is "On", even having braced himself beforehand for a tragic end to Nadeshiko's tale. He swallows hard, choking back tears that threaten to burst. He reaches forward to place a hand on her shoulder, not stopping her progress but to let her know he was there. He knew Unicorns especially favored touch as a show of camaraderie and affection.
"Please... forgive me if you've heard this before today," he tells her, "but the blame isn't yours to bear. A few years ago... you were either a child or barely an adult. Countless others involved... with greater experience... should have seen or anticipated your mistake." He removes his hand then but stays close.
"I don't mean to... tell you how you should feel about it... but I believe it needed saying," he explains softly.
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Post by Horiuchi Nadeshiko on Mar 7, 2018 20:17:32 GMT -5
Nade paused as Yoshis hand touched her shoulder, letting out a soft sigh before she took the last few steps to stand in front of a grave marker bearing the crest of a Moto family and the plinth reading Moto Makoto, age 22.
"I took an entire year to recover, I spent it in my room doing nothing but trying to better myself, to fix all my flaws, to find someway to ensure I wouldn't make such a mistake again. Eventually my mother forced me back to school and that's when the bullying started. They'd known what happened but they veiled it behind the fact that I was quite pretty at the time. It was a very rough time. When I graduated I refused to go back to a local school, to someplace where everyone knew me... This school was the compromise my mother and I came to."
She fell to her knees then and motioned for Kobushi to place the bucket down next to her. A scrub brush was pulled from the small pile of cleaning instruments and she started to work over the plinth in front of her.
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Post by Daidoji Kobushi on Mar 7, 2018 20:27:15 GMT -5
Kobushi does lower the bucket, listening all the while. He still has nothing he can say. He's not much of a talker. He prefers to do things for his friends. But he offers his hand, ready to take any of the cleaning instruments there that she might want help with. It wouldn't be the first plinth he helped clean, and it wouldn't be the last.
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