( IC INBOX / BUSINESS CARD )

[manuscripture]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, ROHAN KISHIBE. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 512.66.730.91 *** USER has joined 512.66.730.91 <AUTOMATED REPLY, DO NOT RETURN:> You have reached the inbox of Rohan Kishibe. I am currently away and unable to answer messages. Leave a BRIEF message with a subject line below. Messages will be replied to in order of importance and subject matter. Advertisements and junk mail will be ignored and blocked from this server.

[ Somewhere around town-- at the bookstore, the Tomoe-Kaname Bakery, attached to posts and notice boards --you find a small white notecard. On it is printed a little message and some numbers in ornate lettering. If you look closely, it reads the following: ]

Rohan Kishibe, Mangaka & Visual Artist
Owner Pro Tempore of Ebony Threads Tailor Shop
Highly Experienced.
Commissions & Advertising For Hire
Pay Negotiable.
Contact At: 512.66.730.91 for inquiries
Castle Lüvchaque - Directly North of Bavan per appointment ONLY.

(( feel free to use this as an action-based prompt too. any random interactions will MOST LIKELY take place in the form of walk-ins at the tailor shop unless it's pre-planned. just drop a starter in here! ))

Comments

[pomaded]

[From scolded puppy to hangdog in one word. He's screwed up and he knows it, which is why he doesn't even attempt to bolster that last, weak argument or even meet Rohan's eyes.]

Look, I told you I'm sorry. It really does just keep happening and then when it does I can't leave it alone because he's fun to mess with and... and...

[He slumps a little further down in his bed and drags a hand through the tangled remains of his pompadour. Being anything but totally honest right now is only going to get him a face full of tail or, if he's particularly unlucky or Rohan angry, bile.]

... if it matters, that was the first time I've actually seen him in months and it was an accident. I was suddenly a goddamn dog, freaking out and recognised the cafe's smell so I went for it. [a pause] Fuck.

[manuscripture]

[ It really depends on which of the two he uses to take off Josuke's head first, honestly. Caustic exposure or blunt force trauma. He's trying-- He's trying to stay chill. Chill isn't one of Rohan's strong points and they are handling a permanently very, very delicate subject. ]

No, it doesn't matter! I don't know why you think that it would! [ He is at a loss here. ] There is nothing fun about that man. He's evil, he hasn't changed! [ Rohan hasn't seen him in months either but he isn't stupid. ]

Whatever pity you've decided to harbor and let grow on him is toxic as Hell and dangerous. You of all people should know that and I'm the one being the rational party here. I get dragged for following the Fog God but at least I can admit that the things I have done for Her have been questionable to flat-out wrong on an ethical scale.

HE doesn't have an excuse and neither do you. [ His fingers have instinctively started scratching at his sweater for the key underneath it on his chest. ] The things I do might be wrong but I can say it.

[manuscripture]

Castle Lüvechaque. Address is on my business card. I will leave the doors open. Follow the halls and stairs to the topmost tower.

That is my room. We can speak there.

[lowsteaks]

[Sure enough, within the hour Rohan will hear the sound of one werebear padding up the stairs--along with someone a bit smaller and four-legged. Suddenly both Chie and a Saint Bernard dog burst into his tower room.]

You should have seen it, Kishibe-sensei, it was amazing.. You know how She's taking places for Her own, right? She started yesterday, there's like this super fog in a couple places.

Well. One of those places is McGucket Labs! I saw it with my own eyes on my way to work! There's this snake guy with no chin who's​ keeping people from going in. I guess that's McGucket.

[manuscripture]

[ Chie moves awfully fast when she is determined. Rohan hasn't even finished putting his face on by the time she and her dog lead the charge RIGHT ON IN.

SWEETIE, HE ONLY JUST PAINTED ON HIS SECOND EYEBROW and thankfully it isn't wonky. He puts up with his mirror beginning to whisper how he almost screwed that up, blending the stupid line out into something niiice and sharp. His eyebrow illusions after his facial hair (save for his luscious eyelashes) fell out have gone pretty undetected. Brush still in his hand, he looks over his shoulder. ]

McGucket Labs got nailed by the Fog? [ HAHAHAHA--... Well, he doesn't laugh outright. Rohan purses his lips with a glimmer rising to his eyes. He's been feeling more energetic lately-- his teeth might be getting bigger, his scales a little sharper along the edges. He's invigorated by this turn of events. ]

The Chinless Wonder is Fiddleford McGucket, yes. I knew that there was something going on but I haven't been into town yet. [ Once he starts passing through Fourth Places, he's gonna know all is not well. ]

I bet he's loving that... It serves him right for being a heathen. I hope Marco is feeling it too. I want them to burn.

[lowsteaks]

It did! It's completely covered by Her power! Well, I mean, this super-concentrated super fog but it's basically Her power. I could feel it.

[She's grinning from ear to ear and hugging herself in glee. She looks like a kid who's just gotten away with stealing cookies from the cookie jar--though in her case, it would have been sausages from the meat drawer of the fridge.]

He's so angry. It's amazing. I can't wait until that jerk Marco sees it. He will, right? Unless he's still in the fish bowl with McGucket.

I kind of wish I could have gone in to see what it's like, but I heard people talking about the subway getting super-fogged too when I was handing out shoes at work, so maybe I'll just check it out there.

[manuscripture]

[ He is happy to see her being so enthusiastic. He's grown quite fond of Chie! ]

There isn't a doubt in my mind that Marco will see it.

[ Slithering away from his mirror, he takes to his standing closet, throwing it open and making the bigger hoard of jewelry hanging on the inside doors jingle. So much. THERE IS SO MUCH. ]

If you want to go investigate the Fog territories, I will not stop you. However, Fourth-occupied areas may be hazardous to you. You are still lower on the ladder, Chie. To be blunt: Don't get too big for your britches or you will get yourself killed. Having an escort might not be a bad idea. However, I'm not having a particularly good feeling about any of this...

[ What does he mean exactly? He doesn't say. ]

[lowsteaks]

[Chie frowns. This is a good thing, right? Okay, the Fourth God territories aren't so great, but the rest of it is what their god wants. She knows it is.]

Kishibe-sensei? What do you mean? This is what She wants. She wanted their dumb lab to be fogged up. Do you mean they're going to strike back at us? But they don't even know who helped Her do it.

[manuscripture]

[ He begins thumbing through his shirts and sweaters. Idly, to distract his hands and keep them busy. His claws have already started to grow a little faster. It hurts. ]

She wanted it, yes. I want that. We all do. Of course they are going to strike back. By 'good' I mean that I am not feeling well. If She has been bumping up the levels of the places She wants done with...

That may be dangerous for the people I care about. I don't react well to dense levels of Fog yet myself. I get unpredictable.

[ He pulls a number from the hangers embroidered in shiny green flourishes and bedecked in strategically placed stones. ]

I may have to consider leaving the castle for a while if that is the case.

[lowsteaks]

You mean, if she decides to super-fog-up here? Or just anyway? Do you have a place you can go? I'd invite you to the ranch, only we don't have heating, just fireplaces, and no kotatsu.

[She shifts her weight from one foot to another, almost nervously. Muku, sensing her mood, whimpers.]

The superfog should be able to stay there. At the labs. I think it should. I dunno if anyone is going to put any other superfogs anywhere else.

[manuscripture]

I am thinking that the shop might be the best place for me. It is safe and familiar and my territory. If things get out of hand, I will not be around Jotaro, Lorna, Anna, or Josuke to harm them. As much as I would like to accept your invitation, I do not want to run the risk of putting you in any danger.

[ Which is pretty damn wise of him. ]

If I wasn't serious about this, I wouldn't be so set on it. Retaliation from the Fourth is inevitable. Who knows what else might be happening from other people too. It isn't just a fight between the two groups. There are groups who don't like either of us.

[lowsteaks]

[Yeah, especially since she doesn't have a fog form yet.]

I guess I shouldn't be surprised about that. And... people know you're with Her, don't they? You talk about it a lot. Way more than me. So it's not just you getting weird in the fog, it's people mad about anyone they think helped Her set up the superfog and not wanting people getting hurt in the crossfire.

[She bites her lip.]

Do you think they'll blame you for it?

[manuscripture]

[ He puts that shirt back and opts for sifting through other ones. A high-necked black sweater-- simple as can be --wins the race. ]

People know. Many people do. That's another reason. If there is a witch hunt for Fog followers, then I might be high on the list. [ He doesn't answer her yet again, choosing to wriggle into the garment first. His head pops out from the collar. ]

Anyone I hurt will blame me. I worry the ones I care about enough with what I do. [ His hand palms over his chest to adjust his key necklace underneath it that has started to get warm. Wearing it outside of his shirt is a bad idea right now. But it's there. ] This is a very difficult situation, Chie... There are people I legitimately hate on the other side of this. I want them dead. I do.

Yet killing is a distasteful act. Being one of Her followers has not been easy, nor has it been morally right by my standards when it comes to the things I have done. Wanting to harm others while simultaneously not wanting harm others is a limbo I never thought I would find myself in.

... Nor is it one I ever wanted to face.

[lowsteaks]

Yeah. I know what you mean. Me and my friends... we weren't the kind of people who did that stuff. Revenge kill. Try to hurt people at all, really. I mean, we almost did, but we stopped ourselves. But at the same time... I do wanna kill some of the people here. Not Marco, even though he's awful. I mean, if nothing else, he still hasn't paid up with his steak he owes me. But Kira and Mitsuhide... and then I look at myself and I wonder how I got here.

[And then, quietly and almost under her breath:]

They shouldn't blame you. Marco and McGucket. It wouldn't be fair. Not when you didn't...

[manuscripture]

McGucket and Marco will most certainly think that I had something to do with the lab. If they don't it's a Christmas Miracle. [ Oof. He's back to the jewelry, plucking at what colors he wants. ]

Kira and Mitsuhide are a match made in Hell. I thought I was rid of him when he became infatuated with Kira but he has decided he wants to come back for more too. He likes Jotaro, but he loves me because I'm not afraid of him. I ripped his throat out once. Pulled his tongue through it like those drug lords do. It was a satisfying after he went through the trouble of kissing me.

[ GROSS. ]

I guess I'm anxious. I'm usually so sure of myself.

[lowsteaks]

Yeah, but you didn't. It wasn't you.

[She looks like she wants to add something, but doesn't. Instead, her imagination is caught by the image of Kishibe-sensei ripping out Mitsuhide's tongue. She hasn't really met him in person, but she's seen pictures of him in her school text books so she can pretty much picture him anyway.

And there's something... well, almost good about thinking about that. About doing back something that violent to someone who creeped on you. She'd have ripped his tongue out too, she thinks.]

It's not your fault. There's lots of weird crap going on.

[manuscripture]

I know I didn't do anything directly.

[ Many things are going through his head from anxiety. Poor boy. ]

I feel like there is more to that than what you are telling me...

[lowsteaks]

[Chie opens her mouth, closes it, considers what to say, then opens it again.]

McGucket Labs isn't usually on my way to work, Kishibe-sensei. I went back there on purpose.

[Welp.]

[manuscripture]

[ His eyes go wiiiide... ]

You mean you...?

[ He points at her. ]

Don't speak in riddles, Chie. This isn't the time... [ BACK there? ]

[lowsteaks]

[Chie takes a second to listen with her bear senses to see if anyone in the castle is close enough to hear. When she's satisfied that no one is, bends to whisper in his ear:]

She gave me something to deliver for Her.

[manuscripture]

[ Rohan GASPS... ]

What-- What did you bring there?

[lowsteaks]

It was power. Power that She gave me. I stopped right outside the building and poured it in and then I came back later 'cause I wanted to see what it did.

[manuscripture]

[ Now that changes everything. Rohan's been having it hinted at him the whole time, hasn't he? ]

What a clever girl you are. [ His lips have curled up as he blindly picks a necklace made of green jewels and diamond-laid leaves. He puts that around his neck to cover up the lump from the key.] Remember that I said to be careful, Chie.

If they find out you did it... [ He turns to her and reaches to pinch her cheek-- just short of his claws. ] Come to me. I will have your back.

[lowsteaks]

[Yeah, she pretty much has been.]

I'm glad you think so, sensei.

[She beams at him.]

And yeah. If they go after me, I'll come to you. I promise.

[manuscripture]

[ He pulls his hand back from there. ]

Good. Now... Run along and be careful. I have some things to tend to before I make... Any kind of decisions right now. I would like to be alone.

You may message me if you need anything.