[IC CONTACT]

[sweetdeath]

Hey! This is Tsuzuki Asato! Thanks for calling!

Leave a message after the --

[beeeeeep]

Comments

March 11 (texts: 1/5)

[outwardinsight]

[ In response to this thread, Tsuzuki's phone will receive a number of rapid-fire texts because don't doubt that Hisoka's watching the BBS responses like a hawk. ]

Will you cut it out already?!

[outwardinsight]

Stop going off on your own all the time!

[outwardinsight]

Keeping track of you is like watching a little kid.

[outwardinsight]

And you're lost???

[outwardinsight]

Are you actually lost? I should be out there with you.

[sweetdeath]

[When Tsuzuki's phone starts chirping and buzzing at him, right after he'd sent that message to Yuuki, he jumps, fumbles it, and drops it right into the fresh dirt.

He's replying as soon as he's dug it out and wiped the screen at least a little cleaner.]

I think I followed her directions right, but there's no temple here. Just an empty patch of land.

Hey Hisoka this dirt looks freshly turned

You don't think Bo might be gone

[outwardinsight]

Minor foreign gods would be easiest to manipulate, right?

Dammit.

[sweetdeath]

Yeah, I guess so.

I'm double-checking the location first, though. I could be wrong.

[And he doesn't want to upset Yuuki without being sure. But it all adds up -- temple gone, shinki reassigned in the middle of the night....]

[outwardinsight]

Watch what you put out there. Don't say anything stupid.

[ Be careful. ]

[sweetdeath]

don't worry!! I'll be careful.

[Come on, Hisoka, he'll be fine! He knows what kinds of things you don't say where the wrong people can hear you.

Also, it's way easier to remember not to say them when it's text and he can actually read back over it before he hits 'send.']

If she's really gone I want to tell Yuuki about it in person anyway.

[outwardinsight]

Who'd be worried about you? I just don't want to have to clean up after you if you get yourself in trouble.

I'll meet you out there. There could be something you'd miss.

[sweetdeath]

[Yeah, right, Hisoka. He felt that concern all the way from here. Tsuzuki grins, fondly, and sends along the directions Yuuki sent him.

If Hisoka winds up in the same place Tsuzuki's standing now, that'll definitely settle the question of whether it's the right one or not.]

[outwardinsight]

[ It'd have been convenient for Tsuzuki to have made some stupid mistake.

If he'd just ended up somewhere entirely different, it'd have been better. Even if the goddess had turned out to be an ass that abandoned her shinki, it'd have been painful for Yuuki but better than a possible murder.

He doesn't say anything, slowing to a walk when he catches sight of Tsuzuki. It speaks for itself. ]

[sweetdeath]

[Tsuzuki sobers, too, as he sees Hisoka approach, and looks down at his phone to send Yuuki the confirmation.

There's no question at all. That's another god gone.

He finds himself relieved, though, by the realization that Bo's shinki didn't disappear.]

That's two of the new gods gone. Did you ever meet Tsukuyomi?

[outwardinsight]

I spoke with him briefly once.

[ Both foreigner and native replacements were equally vulnerable then. He wonders if that's important, but there's no way to tell. He stops a few paces away from Tsuzuki, shoving his hands in his pockets. ]

The other day, you said that Susano'o had been talking about him when he went after you, right?

[sweetdeath]

Yeah, it sounded like he thought I was spying on him for Tsukuyomi.

[Tsuzuki frowns, thinking.] So either they knew each other before, or he was talking about the real Tsukuyomi. I didn't really stick around to ask.

[outwardinsight]

I don't think you're in a good position to ask him now either. [ It's a dry, unenthusiastic effort at humor. He looks to the plot of land, considering the next steps. He hadn't just been making excuses to join Tsuzuki, after all. There are things he can get a grip on that his god can't.

He wonders if he'll regret trying. ]

[sweetdeath]

Maybe he's calmed down.

[Tsuzuki glances at Hisoka, and fades back a few steps. He's got that abstracted look on his face that he gets when he's thinking hard, or when he's trying to use his powers, and either way he probably doesn't need a distraction.]

[outwardinsight]

[ For something like this, it's a matter of focus, and Hisoka doesn't even realize Tsuzuki backed off.

He can't cut himself off from the sense of other people or the messy fragments of emotion that litter the world around them. Strong emotions cling to their surroundings the worst, sharp and often painful, but being passive won't help him learn what he needs. He takes a few steps closer to the plot, closes his eyes, and he reaches out with his senses.

Tsuzuki stands out now in sharp relief, but it feels so natural to have him there that he blends in as a reassuring presence. There aren't any sharp, painful surprises here. No flashes of insight jump out at him at first, and he furrows his brow and digs stubbornly.

The picture fills itself in gradually with the lingering emotions, a sense of the day to day of the shrine that he has to make himself sort through to find something worthwhile. This was certainly the place, but then it's not. Bulldozed, gone, as if it didn't matter at all.

It's the sense of uncaring indifference makes him break out in a cold sweat. He isn't sure how long it took, but it might have been longer than he should have tried. He rubs at his eyes as he tries to pull himself back together, regretting the start of a headache that comes with it. ]

[sweetdeath]

[Tsuzuki's sense of his shinki's feelings might not be anywhere near as detailed as Hisoka's empathy, but he can feel that spike of distress. As Hisoka rubs at his eyes, Tsuzuki heads over, reaching out to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.]

What'd you sense?

[outwardinsight]

[ He jumps slightly as Tsuzuki's hand settles on his shoulder, grounded by the touch even though his nerves feel frayed. ]

It's like she didn't matter at all.

[ Somehow, that's the part that matters most of all. He takes a slow breath, reluctantly dropping his hands. ]

Everything was normal, but then...

[sweetdeath]

[Tsuzuki's eyes darken, and he squeezes Hisoka's shoulder gently.]

So someone just... came in here and cleared it out without caring, huh.

[That is awful. If they were doing it maliciously -- if whoever this murderer is means to kill gods, hates them somehow, at least Tsuzuki could understand. Playing with them like they mean nothing more than pieces in a game... he can't understand that.]

We've gotta warn the other new gods.

[They have to be on their guard. If it's this easy to wipe them out... Bo was probably asleep when it happened. It sounds like Yuuki had been, anyway.

He shudders.]

[outwardinsight]

[ Hisoka shakes his head, regretting the motion rather immediately. ]

It'd do more harm if we started a panic. [ Or possibly blow any credibility they had with Tsuzuki's fellow replacement gods. It's hard to tell which might occur, but both were terrible options. ]

I didn't even witness the murder itself. But I could try. [ He doesn't think he'd succeed, and the doubt colors his voice. Everything was scattered, and it'd been hard to catch the little that he had as it was. ]

[sweetdeath]

If we don't warn them, Bo's not going to be the last one to go.

[He swallows back guilt. He'd known they were all in danger when Tsukuyomi disappeared, and he hadn't warned anybody then. Now, Yuuki's goddess is the one who's gone.

Who's next?

Despite his worry, he doesn't miss the doubt in Hisoka's tone. He looks down, frowning.]

... Sensing the place being destroyed got to you, didn't it? Are you sure it's safe to try to get a read on her death?

[outwardinsight]

[ There's no way to prevent another incident even if they do tell them, but maybe he'll have to hold that argument in reserve. Tsuzuki's guilt is misplaced and keenly distressing, and, by some instinct, he can't help but think it needs addressed. Maybe that's part of being his shinki, too. ]

Don't act like everything's on you to handle by yourself. [ Whether it's work or risk or whatever other burdens they might have to carry. ] I'm going to do my part, too.

[ He reaches up, his hand briefly resting over Tsuzuki's before he pushes it off his shoulder and steps away. Maybe something had gotten to him during that first try, but he's not going to admit it. ]