Reverse Tarot - saori-hasegawa

Pardon the intrusion.

10:57 PM

If I may be frank, is this Saori Hasegawa?

My! You're very astute! Maybe you should be in a mystery novel.

10:58 PM

May I ask who you are?

Mitsuru Kirijo.

10:59 PM

You were a friend of her's as well, weren't you?

Oh! To think I'd be meeting up with my old student council president after all these years!

10:59 PM

Who do you mean?

It has been quite some time.

11:01 PM

Arisato-san. She did speak of you fondly.

She did?

11:02 PM

I mean, you knew her too?

We were rather close, yes. Before. . .

11:04 PM

Well, it is nice to meet someone else who knew her well.

11:04 PM

I hope the years have been kinder to you than the students at our school were.

It was hard at first, right after I transferred, but things have been better recently. Thank you.

11:08 PM

If I can confess, she was really the only friend I had at Gekkoukan. She helped me through a very difficult time. I just wish we would've been able to stay in contact after I moved. I tried sending her some letters, but I guess they didn't quite make it.

And yet you made it through all that. You're just as strong as she said.

11:10 PM

Unfortunately she's. . .been gone since graduation.

11:11 PM

Though I'm sure she'd be happy to know you still thought of her after all that.

Gone? Wait, you don't mean

Yes, I'm afraid so.

11:14 PM

We've been carrying on without her since then but it has been. . .trying, at times.

11:14 PM

We sent a letter to your home but it seems it never reached you.

11:14 PM

I'm sorry you had to find out like this.

Ah. I see.

11:15 PM

I guess that explains why she never answered my letters. Still, thank you for letting me know.

11:17 PM

It's still quite a shock. I wonder why my parents never told me.

Perhaps they thought it too much at the time? Or that it'd be easier to wonder. Whatever the case, you're here now.

11:18 PM

She'd be happy to see you.

Thank you, that's very kind.

11:21 PM

I do hope that's why they withheld it. It's at least more comforting than the alternative.

11:26 PM

Can I ask you how she passed? I understand if you don't want to talk about it, but I'd really like to know.

Peacefully.

11:29 PM

It was as though she simply. . .went to sleep.

11:30 PM

The doctors couldn't explain it either. As far as they could tell she was perfectly healthy.

11:30 PM

But we do at least know she didn't suffer.

That's comforting to know. Thank you. I'm sorry to have drudged up these memories.

You've nothing to apologize for, Hasegawa. You deserved to know.

I appreciate it. More than I can express with words.

It's not something that words can express. But I hear you, Hasegawa.

I just have no idea what to say. All these years, I thought she just forgot about me. Now that just seems awfully selfish.

There was no way for you to know. Don't blame yourself for something you can't change.

I know. It's difficult not to though. It's just one surprise after another today I guess.

We'll just have to drink to our fond memories, then.

11:49 PM

There's no point in moping!

11:50 PM

She wouldn't want us to have her memory chain us down.

You're right. I just need to work past the shock I think.

11:52 PM

I look forward to seeing you in person

Mitsuru's phone number is sent with no preamble in the chat

Thank you, Kirijo-san! I'll send you a text so you can save my contact info as well!

Of course. I'd like to talk more freely once we're outside this strange app.

Likewise!

Returning to Iwatodai, while not unusual, was certainly something that Mitsuru hadn't anticipated doing quite so much in the course of a week. It held many memories, good and bad, but the people she shared those memories with were gone. Either scattered to the wind or the stars. Or so she'd thought. Finding one of Her friends so soon after gaining access to the app herself was too perfect to be a coincidence and yet. . .she found herself soothed by the notion of reminiscing about their shared school days. Setting up a date and time to gather had been easy, and with perhaps a little more flow to her stride, the Kirijo leader strolled into Mandragora, fur coat and all, to meet up with, what she hoped would be a new friend.

@Shy, the Galactic Base Baller

A month ago, a trip to Iwatodai would never have been on her radar. However, it felt strangely relaxing to be back. Sure, she'd had her fair share of troubles here, but it was also home to some of her fondest memories. Even this once place, this seemingly innocuous karaoke bar, held more memories in it than most places she'd been combined. She also never would have expected to run into an old classmate a month ago, and yet, here she was. Normally, Saori was wise enough to know that you shouldn't meet with strangers you met online, especially in such unusual circumstances as these, but the fact that she at least knew who she was helped to assuage her doubts. Saori had arrived early, as she often did, and sat waiting patiently for the other to arrive. The instant Mitsuru entered, she stood. It was impossible to mistake that billowing red hair and aura of imperial regality. She waved the woman over, a huge smile stretching across her face.

Saori stands and in an instant Mitsuru is thrown back to her chaotic, if heartwarming, school days. Seeing her friends whenever she pleased, learning new things together, knowing nothing could shake you so long as you had each other. . . Despite the ups and downs, looking at Saori's barely aged face, she missed it. "Hasegawa. It's been too long." Mitsuru's warm smiles belies the, surprisingly toned, arms that wrap the brunette up in a warm and solid hug. A swift, friendly, kiss on the cheek before the fur coat clad woman pulled away. "You haven't aged a day. I can't tell you how good it is to see a familiar face." Mitsuru gives the other woman a once over, holding her hands gently as she smiled. "Come, sit. I've kept you waiting long enough and I have to say I'm curious as to what you've been up to since school!"

@Shy, the Galactic Base Baller

She'd be lying if she said that she wasn't a little surprised by the sudden hug, not to mention the kiss, but she didn't think much of it. They were simply pleasant, friendly gestures. "Yes, it's been quite a while, hasn't it?" Saori smiled softly, content to just bask in the moment for a bit. It had been some time since she had any sort of casual gathering like this. In that instant, it was enough to, if only for that instant, wash away her anxieties. The compliments of course did nothing to sour the mood either. It was nice. "Thank you, Kirijo, you're looking absolutely regal as always!" Hopefully the other would appreciate the kind words in return, though they were quite the understatement. Kirijo always was radiantly beautiful back in high school. It was good to see that hadn't changed all these years. She followed Mitsuru's lead, finding her way to a seat. "Oh my, I can't say it's been terribly interesting for me. I attended university for some time, and after graduating, I managed to get a very nice teaching job. Other than that, it's been a lot of recreational reading and television dramas."

3:53 AM

@Echo, tangent lore whisperer

This place always conjured a twist in her stomach. The scenery could be quite lovely at times, but always in the most grotesque and macabre way. Despite her tentative alliance with the powerful entity that inhabited it, Saori still felt as though she wasn't welcome in a sense. Perhaps it was a result of her at times wavering conviction, causing that trepidation to bleed through to her master. That didn't mean she should slow down her work however. A promise had been made, and she would have her answers. Not to mention the looming threats she'd been warned of. And so warranted these expeditions, to strengthen and hone her abilities, seek the truth, and maybe, just maybe, discover the cracks in the maze that would lead to her freedom. She wasn't the only one trapped after all. She was well aware that she was in little actual danger in the outer layers, the influence provided by her proprietor contributing to that. Still, the shadows out here made for a good practice. At the very least, she could get used to wielding her newfound power with relative impunity. Her guard remained up at all times despite this, not just cautious of the shadows should they turn more aggressive than usual, but for others like her on their own expedition. The mysterious chatroom was full of them, and so it was likely that she would eventually cross paths with them, whether she wanted to or not. @Phea 2: Aloof Man Fanatic

It didn’t take long for Adachi to return to Phlegethon, all things considered. This sort of chaotic shit seemed to practically beckon him even past his job. After all, it wasn’t like he was actually telling Kirijo-san about all this. It was more… Personal curiosity, than anything. Especially with the sort of shit that seemed to become more and more related to his own past. Notepad in hand, he’d been jotting down some basics about the outer layer shadows. Appearance, frequency, behavior, group tendencies, movement pattern—Just about everything that he thought would be somewhat important to figuring out any sort of greater cause. It might have also been an excuse to go have some target practice on stray shadows, shooting and throwing knives in an attempt to crit them as soon as possible. That all went under the strength category, which he had aptly put “weak as hell” to just about every type of shadow he’d picked a fight with on this level. This was the area he decided to call Styx, following the whole idea of the rivers of the underworld this place seemed to be going for. Seemed fitting for a place that greeted them in as an entrance between reality and this fucked up hellscape, and he sure as hell hated how boring and empty it was. But, hey, meant he didn’t have to worry about bringing out his trump card yet, and the longer he could avoid that, the better. Phlegethon as a name had still had him concerned, especially after he’d looked into it a little more after his first visit. Fire wasn’t exactly something he associated with anything good; in fact, it was only more fuel to the shit that seemed to be worrying Sho. Signs weren’t pointing to anything good there, but he still had to convince himself that he was just overthinking it all. There was no reason to start panicking yet when they couldn’t get to the heart of it all.

1:30 AM

Hence why he was here, doing his best to jot down everything he could. It’d be easier to analyze everything on paper, away from this shitty ass place and the weight on his chest in its presence—And, hey, at least it let him put a little of his police academy education to work, though he found himself doodling shadows more than actually detailing them overtime, beginning to zone out a little at the tedious work. Well, it wasn’t like he really needed to get much more done, anyway, and he preferred not to go much further without someone else there. If he just headed back now, he could grab one of those brats to accompany him further and look around for something actually interesting about this place. For now, he flipped the notepad closed, whistling to himself as he pushed himself off the wall and started his stride towards the entrance. Maybe he’d go out to Crossroads for a bit, then hit up one of the shops for a couple new magazines and catch up on a few anime at home. Sounded like a damn good night to him, at least. But things never went to plan, did they? And this sure as hell wasn’t any different, whistling coming to an abrupt stop as he suddenly sensed he wasn’t alone anymore. It wasn’t a shadow, was it…? Not that they usually had footsteps, but he still found himself gearing up for another speedy execution, taking a knife from his belt and holding tight onto its hilt in his free hand as he turned the corner. What he was met with wasn’t what he expected. Not that it was exactly clear who it was, but they were definitely smaller, and probably a woman, from what he could make out. There wasn’t much more that was obvious, with how much was obscured, but he’d ruled them out as a threat almost immediately.

1:30 AM

“Shit, you scared me…” After taking a breath, he absentmindedly slipped the knife back into its slot, making a point to show that he meant no harm after the initial panic. He would have preferred not to get into a fight if he could avoid it, especially when he just wanted to get home. Besides, that pad of paper didn’t need to get dirtied by all that shit, if possible. Speaking of, he finally slipped it in a small pouch behind his throwing knives, freeing both hands and further trying to cement the idea that he wasn’t doing anything drastic. There wasn’t much he could do with a notepad, save for pathetic attempts at giving the woman a paper cut or use it as some sort of distraction, but, hey, best to get those options out of the way too. Saved him the trouble of any more suspicions being levied against him. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before.” Despite mostly dropping the goofy facade, he wasn’t going to be an asshole to strangers. At least, not ones that didn’t instantly deserve it. Nowadays, that was mostly reserved for punks like Yu-kun and Sho. That didn’t mean he’d be offering any sort of polite bow or handshake, but he kept the tone light and airy enough. “Viper.” …Yep, still sounded stupid.

The suddenness of the voice caused her to nearly jump as she turned and gripped her spear tighter. Upon seeing that it was another human, she took a breath and relaxed. While notably armed, the stranger at the moment at least bared none, so it would do to repay that in kind. She raised the weapon so that the tip pointed skyward, planting the butt of the hilt to the ground. She would have silently thanked god for the anonymity provided by her garb, were it not for the irony of the phrase in this case. In any event, she was thankful for the black hood and mask that obscured all but her mouth, and her eyes peering through the holes. All-in-all, the black and red clothing she wore would likely paint quite the daunting image to a normal individual. Though, it was understandable that this person was less inclined to fear, as he seemed to be similarly garbed. Fascinating. "I could say the same of you," she responded simply. This was in fact the first she'd seen this particular silhouette. It was a far cry from the bunch that came in to rescue her unwilling co-conspirator. Though she did make note of the name he used, Viper. That was definitely one she recognized. The newcomer in the chatroom, brusque as he was, also seemed to share this gift. His willingness to give out some information wasn't shared. As it was, she was loathe to provide any hint that she was the same "Bookworm" from the chatroom, so she devised another codename, something just for moments like these. "Call me Scribe." Yes, that was good. "If I'm being honest Viper, you're the first human I've come across in this place." Playing ignorant was the best call here. She couldn't even let on for a second that she recognized that name. Pretend that all of this is completely new, which it was in a sense, but until she could establish some line of trust, she couldn't allow him to get suspicious.

Sheesh, he nearly got skewered for that one… Wasn’t like there was another option of approaching the situation, and things had turned out for the best, both able to lay down their arms when facing one another. Looks like he at least wouldn’t be made into a shadow snack today, but maybe it was best not to press his luck quite yet with thoughts like that. After all, he couldn’t trust someone at a glance—He wasn’t dumb enough to make the same mistake people had with him. Her costume’s color scheme was definitely notable, but nothing that he felt like stood out too much. Red and black was meant to be “menacing,” sure, but it wasn’t like that sort of thing was reserved just to malicious people. Though, paired with the hood and large mask, the color palette’s stereotype did feel like it was coming into play a little more. Seriously, she looked like some sort of horror movie killer… …Wait a second, he didn’t even have room to talk, did he? His hood was up, too, and his mask, even if it only really covered his mouth, wasn’t exactly the best look for someone trying to seem appealing. Hell, he even had the same color scheme! Really, anything that could be said about her outfit seemed like it was pretty much a statement on his, too. Man, that was bullshit… Color theory wasn’t going to help much, anyway. Who even knew the sorts of processes that went into these dumb outfits? Like hell if he cared to look into that much—That was for someone like that Hanamura kid that actually gave a shit about fashion. Him? He hadn’t thought twice on any of that, past some basic ideas and concepts. What really mattered was the words coming out of the woman’s mouth. Nothing particularly stood out at first—Just a shared sentiment on the fear and a codename to call her by. That was just basic protocol in social interactions like this. What caught his attention, though, was her last statement, having to bite his tongue to avoid an instinctual eyebrow raise.

4:04 AM

“That so?” That statement didn’t seem like it was entirely false, but he couldn’t help but catch himself on the phrasing. Why was that the very first thing she had to bring up? Not that it wasn’t exactly an unnatural train of thought, but it was difficult to feel entirely confident in her statement, seeds of doubt already being planted in his mind. “I’m surprised. This place really seems like quite the party destination.” Was she going to meet her own party here? It’d be weird if she was, considering Adachi hadn’t noticed anyone else coming in during his stay, but it wasn’t like he had eyes on the whole place. Really, though, it was a miracle he’d even run into someone in the first place—The space was too damn large to consistently find a good pathway that he could observe everyone coming and going. Who knew if he was actually alone—Or, they were alone, now. “What brings you here, anyway?” The way it was delivered sounded casual and friendly in tone, but there was much more than that base level that he’d been presenting. It seemed like there always was with someone like him, especially in a place like this. Even if he’d lowered his weapon, it was a necessity to keep his guard up in some form. There were a few things he could already presume from even a rudimentary glance: 1) This wasn’t her first visit to a place like this, considering the outfit and weapon she’d had on hand, 2) This could haven’t been her initial visit here, either, considering how unphased and determined her stride seemed before their encounter, and 3) She was here for something that Adachi knew she sure as hell wasn’t going to tell him. Red flags were already being raised in his head at her mere presence, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let her know that, keeping his shaded eyes as soft as he could. Acting like the fool had practically been his full-time job for a large part of his life, and it seemed now he was giving an encore.

"If this is a party destination, I'd be inclined to leave my invitation at the door," she joked. And yet, here she was anyway. Not entirely of her own volition of course, but that was neither here nor there at the moment. A thought did occur to her though, that perhaps she should not be so casual about all of this. That may hint that she knew more than she let on. Even so, that statement should be relatively harmless, right? "I'm exploring." Another simple answer, this time the truth. Partially at least. "This place can be quite the labyrinth, can't it? I was hoping to try and map it out, but it feels like everything is constantly shifting. By the time I finish recording a corridor, that corridor has already completely changed." That was also something she had tried during her first few excursions to no avail. Again, lacing her slight lie with the truth. That would make it at least a little more believable. Hopefully. "I take it you're here for a similar reason then?" It was a fair enough guess. This place seemed to be new to everyone in the chatroom. It only made sense that they'd want to get a lay of the land, particularly if this wasn't their first time dealing with this phenomenon. The investigation phase was perhaps the most important part of solving a mystery after all.

Hey, seemed like the girl could take a joke! The response had actually made him crack a bit of a smirk, but such a reaction was clouded in mystery behind his fake snake's mouth. Probably for the best—no reason to be letting those emotions out to a stranger. It felt much safer to have them covered up and secured deep within, and that mask provided that, at the very least, even if it gave less anonymity than one that covered the opposite side of his face. What the girl had in humor, though, seemed like it lacked in her plans. Really, exploring? And to try to map out an ever-changing area? How dumb was that? Well, maybe that was being a little too much of an asshole, considering she could at least make the connection of his similar cause. Not that it was that hard of a prediction, but as long as she wasn't throwing any accusations against him, he'd take it. "I guess you could say that." Well, no, she could say exactly that. But being clear with someone was never a priority for him. Really, it was the opposite, but he'd at least offer her something that could help. Least he could do, considering she hadn't stabbed him through the gut on instinct. "You'll lose your mind trying to make sense of the place geographically. You should probably go for something a little more consistent, then you'll be able to piece together more substantial shit from there." From his little stint as playing God in one of these places, he knew how easy it was to warp the scenery and paths. Develop illusions which weren't there, throw the kids whichever way he wanted if they didn't follow the rules of his game. Block off paths, create horrible and congested floors, the whole bit. So, making a map of the place was the last goddamn thing he wanted to do.

5:35 AM

What didn't change as easily, though, were shadows. And they could tell a hell of a lot about the place and its inner workings more than trying to analyze the ebbs and flows of the place ever could. Not that the girl probably knew all that, so he wasn't about to give her a hard time, but it still was a little naive. Part of that almost made him want to trust her, but another voice in his head practically screamed that it could have been a trick to make herself seem naive. Why couldn't he be like Yu-kun…? Sure, he was stupid as hell, but sometimes, brainlessness seemed like it would've been bliss compared to the hell his mind was constantly going through. Couldn't change something like that, as much as he sometimes wished he could. Besides, knowledge was power, or whatever, right? Not that the sentiment actually rang true, considering two of the biggest idiots he'd ever known were also two of the most powerful Persona users out there… "Good luck out there." With that, he was passing by the girl, giving her a friendly pat on the shoulder before beginning his leisurely stride out of this shitty place. If he was any good at his job, he would've stuck around to investigate the girl more. That wasn't the sort of initiative he wanted to take at the moment. Wasn't like there was much reason for him to stick around; doing so would only make him look more suspicious, and more likely to become a kabob for the shadows to feast on. Besides, he'd be late on catching the new anime episode about the guy who could turn his limbs into blades if he stayed too much longer.

She listened to his advice attentively. It made sense. Focus on landmarks rather than pathways. It was good advice even in reality, where roads remained largely consistent. So long as one knew roughly the direction to go, it was likely that one could find their way to their destination. As it stood however, finding stable landmarks in this place could be difficult at best, though she would make a note of that for later. She did tense up a bit as he approached however. No moves were made to signal aggression or defensiveness, but she couldn't stop the tightness in her muscles. The pat on the shoulder wasn't necessarily threatening, but she also couldn't say that it was particularly comforting either. In fact, nothing about this Viper character really set her at ease. The fact that he seemed content to leave her be however was welcome, if not slightly disappointing. "You as well," she offered in return. "I appreciate the advice. Perhaps we'll cross paths again someday." She wanted to remain optimistic. He didn't necessarily seem like a bad guy, but there was just something about him that didn't sit right with her. A certain something about the way he carried himself that felt strange. Maybe she was just imagining things.

(fuck off Adachi, my room now) (edited)

1:00 AM

Prince pauses as he looks over his notebook, a small pocket book meant for field work. It contained all of his notes about the chatroom: who people were, his theories, everything… but he didn't need those now. No, he was done trying to solve that riddle. The others seemed to pick up on it much faster than he did. He ripped out most of the pages except for his notes on nicknames, and let the winds of Phlegethon take them away. The emotions stewing under the surface were on full display. As Yosuke, he was making a strong attempt to be all smiles and laughs. As Prince, he was but a puppet, dancing on a string to a disordent tune. He didn't have to like it. He didn't have to smile. He looked over the names of various politicians, actors, artists, celebrities– before he caught wind of Scribe, shutting his book and offering her a tired smile. "You ready?" They meandered into the darker depths, surrounded by the simulacrum of Tokyo, the area dead quiet and suffocating. "I guess I should fill you in on what we're looking for," he looked back at her, serious as he spoke. "This place, much like the shadows in it, are reflections of the real world. Everything here is here because it either exists in reality… or, I guess, it reflects someone's feelings." Prince stops, looking at a particular building: it was a law office. "I wanted to look through some of these objects and see if we can find some obvious, incriminating things. We used to get stuff from the other world all the time: the shadows would drop weapons or pills, stuff like that. We could take it back anytime we wanted…" He looks back to her with a smile, feeling in his element after his explanations, "So, if we were to sow chaos by exposing people, I think this would be the way to do it." (edited)

Saori had done a lot over the past few weeks to grow accustomed to these otherworldly sojourns, though it was difficult to fully prepare for the task at hand. How could she ever hope to wrap her head around it? And yet, the fact remained that she had once again been tricked, and now she owed a debt. The fact that her debtor did not decide to collect sooner, she counted as a blessing. But now her time was up. She was comfortable enough navigating this place now that she was easily able to track down her partner in crime, such as it was. "Prince," she was to call him here. She made no attempt to hide her approach, figuring it was best to keep him fully aware of her presence. The last thing she needed was to catch him off guard. To his first question, she simply nodded, falling into step alongside him. No matter how many times she visited Phlegethon, she could never quite get used to the scenery. It was familiar, though distorted enough to deeply unsettle her. Instead, she chose to focus on what the other was telling her. It was extremely informative all things considered. It made sense that a world of cognition would contain things that were on peoples' minds. In a way, it actually relieved her. It made what they were about to do that much easier. "I see. So you mean to say that we'll be able to find something to use as leverage over our targets then?" Or at the very least, that was the hope. Saori had never blackmailed anyone before, but she supposed if she was going to do it to anyone, she was glad it was someone of ill-repute. Still, it did manage to strike a nerve in the back of her head, set her on edge a bit. Hopefully that wouldn't come through so much in her disposition. Confidence was key after all.

Yosuke turned back to her and nodded, reaching in his chest pocket to procure his notebook. He hands it to her, turned to the page full of names and supposed crimes they were hiding. "I spent a couple of nights doing research," he commented, moving casually to the law office and trying the door. "I managed to find people who– hrk– were suspects of things, and the investigators looking into them…" After failing to get the door open, he stands back, kicking it down and stumbling back a little. He brushes himself off, giving her a goofy smile, before climbing over the debris into the office. It was filled to the ceiling with filing cabinets, a reflection of the important information the real place held. "I'm thinking: once we find the evidence, we can just deliver it directly to the investigators, and let them do the rest of the work." Yosuke precariously climbs onto a fallen pillar, opening one of the cabinets and thumbing through the files. "The biggest downside," he pauses to pull out a folder, flipping through it, before tossing it aside and looking again, "is that it takes a while to find something. Not a very exciting job…"

Saori took the book, curious, and looked through the list. There were some pretty severe charges here. Good. She wasn't sure how she would handle condemning people who didn't deserve it. She was too much of a bleeding heart for this. But, that was also precisely why she had to press on. She did giggle a bit at the display of opening the door however. Just because this was serious business didn't mean they had to take it totally seriously, and honestly, the goofy smile on his face really did put her heart at ease. It sort of reminded her of an old friend. Following inside, she marveled at the sheer number of filing cabinets within. Talk about an exaggeration. No time to get hung up on that however. She watched as her partner scaled the terrain with just a bit of worry in her heart. "Honestly, I'd rather things stayed as mundane as possible. Besides, what kind of scholar would I be if I was averse to a little research?" She approached a cabinet toward the bottom, sliding it open and beginning to leaf through the folders within. The lack of organization here was horrendous. How were they expected to find anything in here? At least this was better than the alternative use for their powers.

“Yeah-- this kinda stuff isn’t exciting, but… it’s better than actively hurting anyone,” Yosuke thought back to what Kagutsuchi was having Sho do, when they were kids. He remembered the fighting, and the weird… shadow selves, some of which were far more docile than he expected (namely, Yu’s). He wondered what the god would cook up for them to do, really… Yosuke finds a place to settle down, beginning to read through papers, having memorized the names he researched. He really had a mind for this stuff once he went to college, he found. Busying himself with that, he goes mostly quiet, muttering to himself as he rereads and compares information. ”I found one, and it looks like most of this evidence confirms what this guy’s done,” he hops down easily, opening the folders for Saori to look at. “There’s photos here, and a letter copy he sent to one of his ‘victims…’ the name matches up with the accuser too.” Maybe he should have been a detective? He would have been alright at it… but that thought was a little depressing, so he moved on from it and instead focused on Saori’s response. @Shy 2; Revenge of the Second

Her partner was absolutely correct. Regardless of her motivations, Saori didn't think she could handle the emotional toll of knowing she had harmed another human being. If it ever came to that, she may have to resort to more extreme measures. For now though, the work that they were doing, while it left her feeling dirty, was ultimately the better option. The search was monotonous. It reminded her of university. Just endless leafing through sources looking for the one piece of information you required. That wasn't something she missed about school. As such, when Prince turned up with something, she perked up immediately, strutting over to him to inspect it herself. "Intriguing..." she stated, eyes running over the files. It was utterly fascinating that such information could be gleaned from this world. Perhaps unsurprising, considering its nature, but fascinating nonetheless. What she wouldn't give to study it more thoroughly. Perhaps in another life. "Excellent work. I do believe this will be a sufficient amount to act on. Hopefully it'll be enough to satisfy our benefactor as well." She sincerely hoped that. The part of this job that worried her the most was what would happen if their efforts were unsatisfactory. Saori didn't want to imagine the consequences of failure here.