kaisou | [CLOSED LOG] Taking care of business

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[CLOSED LOG] Taking care of business

WHO: Yusuke, Elliot, Yuri
WHERE: An Abandoned Mall, eventually the spirit realm
WHEN: December 1st
WHAT: Murder!
WARNINGS: Murder!!!

[After this and this.

Elliot can't say he expected his December to begin this way, pulling up into an empty mall parking lot to meet up with his coworkers. His chest ached, and his eyes were red from crying. Where it not for that call from Varian, he probably would've spent the day on the couch, feeling miserable.

But now...well, he still felt miserable. Possibly more so. But at least he had something to focus on, something tangible to be angry about and do something about.

His resolve steeled, he'll draw in a deep breath and get out of the car and lock it behind him. He makes sure no one is watching him as he heads into the building, all while keeping his eyes peeled for Yusuke and Yuri. ]

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[The entire time Yusuke was waiting for Yuri and then on the entire ride out to the abandoned mall he's been...weirdly tense. He had gloves on before Yuri even showed up and he hasn't taken them off yet despite not bothering with a coat.

It's mostly so if he clenches a fist he doesn't hurt himself on accident. An artist needs their hands, after all.

As they pull in, Yusuke takes a moment to try and calm down. No need to upset Elliot further by being emotional.]

[Yuri's quiet during the car ride as well. He's lost in his own thoughts, so the silence is something of a relief for him. Once he's pulled up to the parking lot, he puts on his gloves and steps out into the cold, early December air. Yuri locks his car before walking calmly and casually to Elliot with Yusuke, raising a hand in greeting.]

Hey, little oriole. As you can see, I've brought the ever elegant crane.

[It's an attempt to lighten the mood somewhat, but he's also a little paranoid of being overheard right now.]

[Normally Elliot might gripe about why he gets something like "little oriole" while Yusuke gets a cooler sounding name, but he's hardly in the mood for their usual banter. Instead, he'll give a nod and a small wave]

I see. Thank you for bringing him. And for coming.

[He'll head into the mall, looking around. Like the other two, he's quiet as they walk. Eventually, there's a spot with benches, near an abandoned indoor fake plants and a trash can.

Elliot will walk over to it, looking around before nodding]

Mm, this place should work fine.

[Yusuke sits down, looking down at his hands.]

I feel I should be transparent with you both before we continue this conversation. I doubt either of you have ever heard of Ichiryusai Madarame, but for sixteen years of my life I lived under that man's roof and called him my sensei. He was an abusive man who forced his students to create pieces he then displayed under his name. He is also responsible for the death of my mother.

[A beat.]

If either of you feel I shouldn't help with this, I will understand entirely. But I would like to.

[Yuri leans against the wall with his arms crossed. He listens to Yusuke's story, or at least the part that their friend is willing to share, and then shrugs lightly.]

Hey, I've got no objections to our crane's participation, but I'd be a hypocrite if I did. At least, in a manner of speaking.

[He hesitates somewhat before deciding to at least speak a little bit more on his own past. It's only fair, at this point, though he has no intention of going deeper tonight.]

Let's just say I was almost a murder victim myself, and the justice system failed me pretty badly. Even if we could take her to trial and get her locked away for life, I wouldn't trust it, personally.

[While Yusuke talks, Elliot will pull his staff out of his bag and lengthen it to its full length. A quick flash of a spell, and the area around them gains a near translucent barrier - a soundproofing spell.

He then puts away his staff once more]

Madarame...[that's a familiar name, especially paired with that story] My ex-boyfriend told me about that guy...it was a big deal when it came out that he'd been using his student's work and abusing them. I had no idea you were one of them...

[It really is a small world. As for Yuri's story, his eyes cast down. He wonders if that's the reason why Yuri left broadway so abruptly.]

...I just don't want to fail another kid while I have the chance. [It was simple as that] So I'm not going to object to either of you. And...I agree, Yuri. I think she's too shrewd and fast for the justice system to work in time.

If we want to protect Snow, we'll have to be the ones to do it.

[Yusuke nods, and then he chuckles.]

It's funny. I remember doing something similar at one point, though I have no idea why I remember this. But we're the only ones who can, I think. The question is how.

[Yuri looks similarly amused.]

Getting some deja vu myself, which is a little concerning. Anyway....

[He frowns slightly.]

Let's lay out any abilities we've got between us. That'll help us figure out what we can work with. I can unlock doors pretty easily, as long as it's not digital. I can also make myself invisible for a bit of time, and I can use the shadows to kinda teleport, as long as I can see them.

Ha...no comment on my past life.

[We don't have all day to get into the Trails series]

I can use elemental magic, but it takes a few seconds to charge. I can also small closet sized realm, though it's mostly used for storage.

[..a pause, then reluctantly]

And I can turn into a cat.

...one moment.

[Yusuke stands and steps a bit away from the other two before he's suddenly surrounded by blue fire and pulling a mask off of his face that wasn't there a moment ago. A weird man appears behind Yusuke.]

I can summon him. I believe his name is Goemon, and I think he can freeze things.

[Yuri hums softly as he considers all of this. Though, he does give Elliot a look like all of a sudden, everything makes sense.]

So, I can see two options laid out for us. Stop me if they seem crazy, especially the second one. 'Cause I don't even know if it's possible.

[With some reluctance:]

First option is breaking and entering. Not a great option, considering she's probably got cameras all over the place. If we know someone tech savvy and they're down to be an accessory to murder, then it becomes more viable. Otherwise, I think I'm the only one who could get passed the cameras without being caught on them, but that's extremely risky and I've got a time limit, too.

Our second option is to lure her somewhere she wouldn't expect. Then she's out of her home field advantage and can't call for backup. If the Spirit Realm is an option, which I really don't know if it is, then that'd be actually perfect.

[Elliot can't help but raise his eyebrows and stare some at the giant man that Yusuke just summoned. Yep...yep that sure is something else. But considering how his life is nothing but weird these days, he'll hardly freak out about it.

He'll put his hand to his chin as he listens to Yuri.]

...The second option sounds like the better one. Zodiac said it a few weeks ago about Professor Willow: the legal system can't really pursue cases that deal with the Spirit Realm because they don't know of it's existence. So if we do it there, we'll have less to worry about.

And I know a place we can access it. There's a gate that leads to a realm where all the pokemon creatures come from. It's in the park.

If we use the Spirit Realm, we might not even need to do anything else. Surely someone so cruel and selfish would end up provoking the residents of the Realm?

[Yuri looks relieved that the second option is the better one, quite honestly.]

Great, then I'm not losing my mind.

[He tilts his head slightly at that.]

Is that how that works? On the other hand, not sure I wanna trust spirits to do our dirty work. Sounds like more bad karma we don't need.

[He crosses his arms and nods]

Mm, I agree. Not to mention...I don't want to chance her surviving and finding a way out of the Spirit Realm on her own.

So I think our best option is to lure her into the spirit realm, do the job ourselves, and then leave her body deep enough in the realm that people won't find it before Pokemon scavenge it.

In that case, I think our best option might be to drug her, or make it seem like a heart attack or wild animal attack.

[Now that it's sinking in that they're all very serious about going through with this, there's a part of Yuri that's reeling from how easily he's been going along with it. He's... ignoring it, at least for now. There'll be time for reflection later, which is also strangely familiar.]

I'll admit, I don't know this Grimhilde person terribly well, but drugging will most likely be difficult if she's paranoid about that already. Still, that might be our best option.

[He looks to Elliot.]

Thoughts, little oriole?

[Elliot goes quiet for a long moment, clearly thinking things through. Things were best decided with long and careful thought, as his father always said.

Guess all those years of forced military training is paying off, since he's still calm thinking this through. He'll probably panic later, once its all done and the feelings fueling him wear off, but for now....]

...Drugging can't be done without raising suspicions. We can't risk anyone linking us to her disappearance.

[But he does have a plan, the tactician side of his brain working into gear]

Snow is with Varian and Fern right now, but Grimhilde doesn't know where.

We call her, pretending to be park security and tell her she needs to come pick up her daughter. With how controlling she is, she'll come herself. Once she's out of the car, Yuri will use his invisibility to get her keys and make them fall to the ground. Then...as a cat, I'll grab them and make a run towards the spirit gate - leaving no choice but for her to follow.

Once she's close enough to the gate, Yusuke will use Goemon to knock her in.

Then...we'll use magic to finish her off, since we can pass that off as a Pokemon attack. If anyone finds her, the story will be that she wandered into the Spirit Realm by accident, and got killed by a pokemon.

[he glances at the other two.]

...Do you think that'll work?

[Yusuke listens, thinking and going over what his abilities are and how best to use them in this situation. After a moment, he nods.]

This sounds like the best idea we have, yes. If necessary, we can stop by my apartment and I will throw on one of Rei's subtler outfits and some make-up. [Rei being his drag persona.] I do have one more question: does Snow have anyone to look after her?

[Yuri likewise gives it some careful thought. After a moment, he nods slowly.]

I agree. I think this has the best chance of working.

[He crosses his arms at the question, though. That's a very important point, honestly, but he'll wait to hear what Elliot has to say.]

[Yeah, that's an important question. Elliot will give a nod]

Mm. She has an older cousin, Anna. I met her during the concert, she cares about Snow a lot...so I'm sure she'll look after her.

Good.

[If Elliot says this Anna will take care of Snow, then Yusuke believes him.]

Well. Shall we?

[Yuri pushes off the wall and stretches.]

Let's get this done.

[Ah...so it is time. Elliot, despite all his coldness through this, has a flash of anxiety cross his face for a moment. So it's really coming to this.

...No backing out now]

Y-Yeah, let's go.

[He'll get up as well, lowering the soundproofing barrier as he does so]

[It is a couple of hours later that the three of them are walking out of the Spirit Gate in the park. The deed is done.

Yusuke lets out a somewhat shaky breath.]

That was...

[Well.]

[Yuri runs a hand through his hair after they exit the Gate, about the only indication at the moment that he's not feeling good about what they've done. He's starting to wonder how much of his past life is affecting who he is now.]

I dunno about you two, but I don't think spending the night alone after... all that is a good idea.

[While the other two were relatively stoic, Elliot was...less so. His arms were wrapped tightly around himself, tears forming now as the adrenaline has worn off and what they did was fully sinking in.

Grimhilde was dead. No one else would suffer at her hands, and Snow would be safe at last. But instead of feeling better, he just felt sick. And Yuri mentioning spending the night with someone only makes that sickness grow, as he thinks of the one he would normally go to]

...What am I going to tell Rean...?

[He says it quietly, mostly to himself. Rean was a good man. What was he going to think of all this? ]

Just say you're worried for a student, that something has been done but you're still worried. He'll understand that you can't say anything more, surely.

[Sometimes there are benefits to his weird detachment. He'll panic later.]

...I do agree with Yuri, though. I don't think I want to be alone tonight.

I'm no expert, but this isn't something you should keep from him. It's up to you if you wanna tell him the full story, though. That said... my door's open if you need to crash at my place for any reason. Both of you.

[Yuri isn't about to leave two of his best friends out to dry. Not after all this.]

[He swallows and sniff]

Y-Yeah...I'll tell him. I'm not really good at keeping secrets from Rean, anyway. He's really good at reading me. [Or rather you crack very quickly under the slightest of pressure from Rean] - I'll leave your names out of it though.

[So if it goes badly, they won't get in trouble for it]

But if it doesn't go well...? I might take you up on that Yuri, so...thanks.

I think I will take you up on that offer, Yuri. Not that I expect I will be sleeping much tonight, but all the same.

[Yuri walks over to put a gentle hand on Elliot's shoulder, but he'll back off if it's unwelcome.]

I got your back. That hasn't changed. I'll text you in the morning to check on you, though.

[To Yusuke, he nods.]

I'll put some tea or hot chocolate on. Might knock myself out with Benadryl 'cause I know I won't be able to sleep otherwise.

[It's not a hug, so he won't pull away. Instead he'll look up and give a nod at Yuri]

Alright. Thank you Yuri... [Glancing over at Yusuke] You too Yusuke.

I don't think I could've pulled this off on my own so.....I owe you a lot.

[They went to hell and back for him. He knows he'll be indebted for a long time]

Of course. You're my friend--I'd sooner die myself than let you deal with something like this on your own. Both of you.

[A somewhat Pointed Look at Yuri but honestly he's too drained for much more than that.]

You don't owe me anything. [Though he'd never say no to food because it's Yusuke.]

[Yuri sees the look and shrugs lightly. He's getting the distinct feeling that he'll be grilled later once the dust has settled.]

You definitely don't owe me anything. I'm just glad I could do something to help you and Snow.

Heh...you guys are too nice. It makes me want to repay you all the more.

[so in other words what they said totally flies over his short head. He'll pull away from Yuri's hold]

We should probably get going. It might get suspicious if we linger too long.

Agreed. Yuri, do you mind if we stop by somewhere so I can grab something to eat?

[How are you hungry at a time like this Yusuke.]

[Yuri won't judge. He's pretty familiar with how stress and huge, mixed emotions affects people differently.]

Yeah, sure. I'll pay for it, so just pick a place.

[He looks to Elliot.]

Shoot me a text when you get home so I know you got back safely. I'll do the same.

[Elliot meanwhile has no idea how Yusuke could eat at a time like this, and he gives a bit of a look-- but opts to say nothing. No judging]

Got it. I'll talk to you later.

...Take care.

[He'll kneel to the ground, focusing until he shifts into his cat form. He'll give them both a quick look before running off in another direction and into the underbrush, exiting the scene]

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[CLOSED LOG] Taking care of business

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