Distorted Perceptions ch.1-Beginning
The story begins in a small community outside modern day Tokyo. This is where Ein Dison begins his twisted version of justice for the "psychics" scattered all around the world.
*Since this is centered in Japan, I feel that we should give it a Japanese feel, if you're uncertain, I'm working on a wiki for this sort of thing, check it out^^
Dropping in like a phantom, it was no time at all before he'd found him. "I'm sorry." The blade went unseen even as it flashed through the air. Blood splatters, clear as day even in the nearly pitch black room were all that were seen, reflecting what little light there was and glistening like the nights sky across the walls.
Walking from the dimly lit room, Ein stopped in the doorway, taking one final look at what he'd done, and with a smile, the blade vanished from his grasp, leaving not a single trace....
"Hyde! Your class starts in twenty minutes." Ein burst through the doors, toothbrush hanging from his lips, wearing nothing but his boxers and socks. He sighed at the sleeping figure, draped awkwardly over the small bed. "Wake up." Hyde's matress slid clean off his box springs onto the floor, a wide grin forming around the shaft of his toothbrush. "You should have left already."
Hyde gasped and leapt to his feet, "Why didn't my alarm go off!" He exclaimed, diving for the closet. He rummaged around for less than a minute before reemerging in a pair of loose fitting jeans and a t-shirt. He threw his shoes on and grabbed his bag before pausing, "Wait... What're you doing up so early?" He blinked in Ein's direction.
"Uhh...I have no idea." Ein glanced at the alarm clock, eyeing it carefully. "it's been reset." he shrugged, purposefully ignoring his second question. If it got brought up again, he'd come up with something. In truth, he couldn't sleep anyway, and had an early appointment...
"I'm gonna kill her..." Hyde growled, fleeing from the room, "I'll see you after classes, Ein!' The front door slammed behind him.
Nevaeh was in the kitchen cooking up peanut butter and marshmallow pancakes, a new favorite that she'd discovered with experimentatio
n the previous wake, "Later, Hyde!" She called as he ran out of the house.
"What is that vile concoction you're brewing up?" Ein asked, curling his nose as he walked into the kitchen with Nevaeh. She always came up with the oddest mixtures, and seldom did Ein find the edible, much less good.
"Pancakes." Nevaeh said cheerily, "They're good and sweet, and gooey in the middle." She frowned, "Maybe I should have added chocolate chips as well? What do you think, Ein?"
"Oh!" She pulled her cell out of her pocket, read the message sent, and quickly typed out a reply.
Hey! Long time no hear, Nanika atta? There hasn't been much activity this way. Maybe you can come visit sometime!
Send: Theo
"Don't even- No damnit!" Ein sighed out, finishing with the last button on his shirt. "That kid's only gonna get us busted. Until he can control himself better, he shouldn't be around."
"Oh hush you." Nevaeh giggled, "It's not going to be a big deal, if he visits it'll be fine. It's not like I'm going to drag him into dangerous business again, or was he it who dragged himself in?" She said thoughtfully, flipping the pancakes as she spoke.
"This is gonna be more of a disaster than those damn pancakes of yours." He threw his hands up none the less, it wouldn't do any good to fight, because Hyde would probably just agree with her anyway. "I've gotta meet with my English professor at nine, is there anything you need while I'm out?"
"Nothing that I don't already have. And anyway, what's wrong with my pancakes? You've never even tried them! The least you can do is taste one before you complain." Nevaeh huffed.
"They smell atrocious. I'll see you this evening then." Ein muttered out, cursing something incoherently under his breath as he walked out of the door.
"Jeez, they smell sweet, obviously somebody doesn't enjoy the delicacies of having a sweet tooth." Nevaeh stuck her tongue out at the closed door. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she whipped it out again.
Sounds like a plan, name the place and I'll be there!
Send: Theo
See you there!
Send: Theo
Nevaeh sat down to enjoy a large stack of pancakes after that, and once she was done she cleaned up. Satiated she headed upstairs to change and read for a while, free days were always dull.
"Kawai-nee!" Theo's mother exclaimed as he brought home his new Iphone. It had taken forever to get his old phone replaced. His parents had just bought the new plan when they moved to japan, so refused to purchase another new phone. He saved up over the month, and bought an Iphone for himself, while during the interim he had been using an old phone. He also made sure to purchase a nice hard clear case for it, knowing that it very well could get broken. Theo sat down and began to go through the numbers the company transferred over for him, making sure they were all there, when he comes across that name. Neveah "What am I gonna do about that girl...more importantly her crazy friends and associates." Theo said aloud. He went upstairs and plopped on his bed. Theo had been on his toes this entire time, basically waiting for the group of men to identify and come after him. He was still fairly unclear as to how the whole thing went down and why. He understood that the incidents had been connected, but never got a definitive purpose out of the trio that he had been temporarily associated with. He looked at the scars on his arms from his fight with Ein disdainfully. That had been a fairly obnoxious task, keeping injuries a secret from his parents. They were mostly shallow, but he had the darker lines on his right arm, and a lateral scar down his leg. They would all fade with time, it was glass but it was only from the force of leaping through the window. Glass was coming out of his hair for a week, after that entire incident. They told him to contact them when he had grown a bit more, whatever that meant, and he had gotten what he thought was a promise to be warned if anything bad was coming his way. Actually, he might as well find out if anything was going on right then.
Slowly and awkwardly he typed out the message
"Hey this is Theo,...Ogenki desu ka?"
Send: Neveah
"Aiyooo,...I should probably say yes. I mean, I just hope she is the only one there. I don't really trust her, but hey she is way better than Ein. She is danger prone, where as he is just plain dangerous."
"Hey, yeah sure, My schedule is free for the day, I can skip Japanese ;), where do you wanna meet up? Noon at a restaurant for lunch?"
Send: Neveah
"Oishii in downtown tokyo. Seeya there!"
Send: Neveah
Theo hopped out of the taxi. He had come to rely on them, to find his way around, he could always trust someone else to know where the hell he was talking about in the city. He stood outside the entrance to the restaurant, waiting for Neveah to arrive.
"Theo!" Nevaeh chirped, coming up to him, panting slightly from her run, "It's been ages, what've you been up to?" She straightened and ran a hand through her mussed hair.
"Oh, you know, same old same old. Except the whole randomly feeling everyone elses emotions, and inanimate objects randomly breaking around me part,...I am all good. About to finish my Japanese class, and I guess I might try enrolling into some classes here, my parents really didn't think of my college education when they moved us here, but oh well."
"Whats new with you?"
Theo gestured to her after his mildly long winded monologue, while making eye contact with the server to let them know they would like to be seated, as he held the door to Oishii for her.
"You'll get the handle on everything soon enough, usually our gifts appear in early childhood, but I suppose yours remained dormant for a long time. Or maybe you just didn't notice, perhaps the odd dream here and there, or strange things happening that could've been brushed off..." Her tone was thoughtful as she followed him inside, "I'm doing alright, bored as can be, nii-san has refused to let me continue with my investigations because of last time, though of course I'm going to get back into the swing of things soon, there's not enough to do, even with my classes. I've tried whiling away my time creating things, but you can only do so much, you know?" The server gave a slight bow to them and led them in to a table near the window.
"About those investigations,...I never really understood exactly what they were even. I got the immediate jist of the scene when we had to go and rescue you, but seriously Neveah, who were they, and why were they after you? At the time it appeared like it was because you were poking your nose around, but I don't even know if those 2 groups, the guy and those men were related. Plus the fact that he was able to take you, with Ein and me right there, not knowing a thing, must mean he is powerful...whatever that means. He blocked our attempts to find you with telepathy, and I dont know what he could have done if his powers weren't knocked out. And he is still out there. I apologize for coming on so strongly right now, but I am just really worried. I have to assume he knows who each and every one of us are, and is just waiting for another chance to act..."
Theo sighed after his long string of questions and statements, already appearing to be stressed by the mere idea.
"Haha, you are full to bursting with questions, aren't you? Well, to be honest... I was poking around. See... there were a bunch of people, like us, who were just vanishing from the streets... It worried me because nii-san, Ein nii-san, and myself could have been viable targets. I wanted to get to the bottom of the situation immediately, and so I began to look around, ask questions. Some of this I must admit was done in the wrong place at the wrong time, however, I uncovered where these people were being held in an old warehouse on the outskirts of town and freed them. I then sought a way to get the ones that had abducted them off of the streets. For obvious reasons we don't try to show ourselves in the public eye... Anyway, I discovered a drug and slave trafficking ring and was getting ready to go to the police when I bumped into you.
"When I was... abducted it was pretty sudden, I didn't even have the chance to react. The adept that captured me was extraordinarily powerful and knew how to hold me, so he had to have done his homework. I don't believe you're in danger, he didn't see you, and also was unable to get any information about you from myself, which was doubly lucky because I really didn't know you. I do worry that he may come back, however. If not for me then for nii-san or Ein nii-san... Which is why I'm going to hunt him down first. He won't get to me so easily, I've been practicing and I feel that I may just stand a chance this time. Just... don't tell either of those two what I'm telling you now, they'd kill me if they found out and you and I would probably have a little chat thereafter." She steepled her fingers and drew in a deep breath, "Any other questions that you have?"
"I see,...I hope you're right then. So, I dunno...this is just strange, is there anything else I should know? I mean, biologically speaking, what are we? I am sure I wont necessarily show up any differently to a doctor, although I bet a cat scan, or an MRI, would detect much different patterns for us. So I am not worried really about that,...but what I am worried about is just general detection. I mean, the number of people that saw us in the city, I can't imagine. Now none of them got a good look I bet, or had the wherewithal to have a camera on them,...but seriously, the number of people with paranormal hobby hunting, combined with those organizations out to get us probably feeding them information and getting them to post any information on a seemingly benign website,..." Theo took a breath for a moment, halting his rant mid-stride. Exhaled, and continued in softer tones "Is,...disquieting to say the least. It's frightening to have to feel like everything needs to be on a short term basis. If I avoid detection, to this date...then all is well, then this date, then this date,...so on. Not that I expect you to have anything, just voicing it."
"From another angle, sociologically, I don't know what we are anymore, if we are humans or some x-men like shit,...nor do I know how many of us there are, but if this is going to be an us or them situation, it would be nice to gather with others. If the governemnt comes for me, I don't want to be the only one defending myself, likewise for anyone else I am with. The only problem for that is, the larger the group the easier it is to identify and locate them, being scattered is safer to retain anonymity. Ofcourse these are long term ideas because I can't stand being unprepared, I know this is probably an over reaction and everything but still..."
Theo shifted his energy to a more pensive state, as he stared now past Neveah. After pouring his frustrations out to her, he sought to regain his center again. It was funny, he decided to call them active and passive empathy, but while his active empathy wasn't actually on for the moment, his passive still was. Giving him this strange doubled sense of emotion. He more or less knew what he was feeling, but now it literally liked he could feel his emotions flowing and shifting within him. He felt himself throwing them at Neveah with every word, tinted with fear, anger, and some sadness. She herself was a swirl of emotion, neither bright nor dim, but until it was more active, he would be unable to actually separate those colors into more distinct and understood patterns and impressions. Even still, in this state, he could see and feel people around him. He knew there were 32 people in the room, and 5 in the backroom tending to the food. It was like a pressure they exuded upon him, a tiny sliver of weight, pressing upon him just enough for him to know they were there,...or be unable to ignore their nagging presence. Entering the entire city almost set a pall down upon him, the weight of the city, while not directly in his general vicinity or range, created a pall of energy. Like a very high air pressure, it mentally popped his ears as he ascended into much greater and concentrated levels of emotional energy, and it pushed into him.
"You've got a lot going on in that mind of yours, don't you?" Nevaeh chuckled briefly as she steepled her fingers as she thought of how to respond, "Personally I can't say what we are, though we are quite human there's no doubt in my mind about that.
"And as you say, mobilizing as a full group would reveal us to the general population. We've discussed possibilities in the past, but we honestly can't chance revealing ourselves even to others of our kind. It's dangerous, you never truly know where their loyalties lie. We've run into that problem before and the outcome was not very nice.
"As for curious people posting videos and the like online, we haven't come across that issue yet so I can't give any sound advice except to try not to get caught..." She chuckled.
"I guess what I am really looking for here is a focus of some sort. I just don't know what to do, I feel like, I mean there is no way to go back to life as was before. I don't even know what is going on with my body and mine. I don't know when this will end, I didn't even realize it, when it begun. I feel guilty, I realize some of my awards, belts, and championships were won with the assistance of this strange strength of mine. Not that I really care at this point, because I know I earned that black belt of mine, but still. I just, what do I do now? Obviously I am trying to learn to control these abilities without getting caught,...but what else? What else do I do,..." Theo ended that last note, with a note of distraction, as though he was even at that moment, searching for what the point in all this was. There must be something he is to do? Theo adjusted his shirt a bit, feeling the slightly elastic pull of the lion face on the faded yellow color.
"First off, learn to calm and center yourself, you'll get nowhere frazzling yourself as you are now. In fact, it tends to feed into your powers and draw them out of control." Nevaeh replied, "And sadly control isn't something that comes overnight, hell I don't even know if there's somebody out there who can fully control their abilities."
"Well, I refuse to give in to that ideal, raised on the values of complete control through martial arts, I suppose that just means I am going to spend forever attempting that. Slow going though, being taught would be so much faster though, fat chance there."
Theo stated. His eyes brightened slightly as the waiter came to take their order.
'Turn on the news, something's up.' Ein typed quickly, watching the headlines in awe.
Send: Hyde, Nevaeh.
"Considering we don't fully know what gives us the abilities we have, and no two of us ever seems to be the same... Having a teacher really isn't likely." Nevaeh spoke, turning to give her order a moment later before her phone vibrated against her hip, "The news?" She muttered, glancing at the t.v. in the corner, the channel was already set though the volume was low.
"I will get the lunch special, thank you. And could you please turn up the television please?" Theo stated, as he looked from Neveah's concern to the television.
'...A brutal string of murders have occurred across the city recently, the latest victim found butchered on the central college campus. As of now, Police haven't been able to find any connection between the victims, and are deeming these random occurrences. Until further notice...'
"I'll have the special as well." Nevaeh said distractedly as she watched the news bulletin. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a notepad, quickly she scribbled the broadcast down with a frown.
"Oh boy,...that is not good. Normally I would just say that sucks,...but I suppose Ein knows something we don't about them..." Theo stated wondering if those students were psychics or something. He knew Ein wasn't really a caring person, so there must be something else to the importance of their deaths.
"Is that the college that you guys go to?"
Nevaeh frowned as she finished writing down names, as well as scribbled notes below them. She took a long swallow from her glass of water and turned her nervous, worried gaze to Theo as she pulled a compacted laptop from her bag, flipping it open. She was silent for several long minutes before at last turning the screen so that Theo could see, "I was hoping I was wrong... But most of these victims I have met during my missions. They were captives and needed saving. They were also all gifted in some manner or other. Somebody's hunting us down. The situation's changed, I'm going to need you to come home with me to talk to nii-san and Ein nii-san..." She said carefully, "Most have been slain around the Central College Campus, though there have been some further out in the city, which leads me to believe that maybe somebody living on or near the campus has taken it upon themselves to kill these people. And the odds are they were killed for their gifts.
"I'm not sure but at this point I'd suggest not going anywhere alone anymore, especially since you can't really control your abilities yet, and even if you could..." She let the sentence taper off as she drew in a breath, "The odds that the individual or individuals are gifted as well are highly likely." Nevaeh grew silent as their food was set down at the table, "Thank you." She muttered.
"Oh, this is wonderful. This is more or less what I came here to make sure I didn't have to do...Fuck!" Theo ended that last note under his breath, not to disturb the restaurant. This was not what he wanted to hear, but at the same time, he is totally not surprised. "Why would someone with the same,...talents...want to come after us? Are they working for someone you think? The government? A private contractor? Do you know who you we are dealing with?"
"At this point I don't know. These are my preliminary results and until I start investigating further I won't know much else." Nevaeh shook her head, "We won't be able to trust this information to anybody..." She frowned, "Not even nii-san or Ein nii-san I think. N-Not that I don't trust them but... This sort of information tends to endanger the ones that know it. I don't want them to be put into that sort of situation..."
"Neither of them know, that those people were affiliated with you? Or that they were psychics? Oy vey,...I, ugh."
"Waitress!"
"Hey, thanks, could you wrap this up, somethings come up and I can't really eat here."
Nevaeh sighed, "I need this wrapped to." When they were alone again, "It's kind of a bit of both." She bit her lip, "Shit..."
Okay, well lets just get back to your place then, I guess? I mean if I have to stay with you guys is that the idea, because you are in danger, and I am in danger just for knowing you. Good luck trying to describe anything to Ein, he will just read it from you, and then attack you for it...ugh."
Theo tsuki-botsu was irritated. He didn't know how this was all supposed to work out, but knew this wasn't kiddie shit either way. If it mean he had to drop out of college, and away from his parents, he had prepared himself for those possibilities for a while. A part of him yearned for this actually. A crazy adventure? Why the fuck not! Life threatening wasn't the ideal circumstance, however he would work with what he was given. The idea that perhaps he could make up for the life that he took still floated in his subconscious, and urged him forward. He didn't know his capacity, but more than relived it must have been these powers that had given him the blinding strength he wielded that ended up winning him the championship, and killing his last competitor. He knew the last three men he had fought were more skilled than he was...but somehow he just ended up having faster reflexes, and stronger hits, to counter their greater skill and technique. He knew he wasn't gold medal material, but he would earn his gold then. Theo picked up his food as the waitress dropped it off, and moved out of his seat towards the door, looking expectantly at Nevaeh.
Nevaeh handed the waitress a handful of bills, "Keep the change." She muttered as she trailed after Theo. She waited til they were outside to speak, "The problem is Ein's ability to read minds. I've been around him long enough that I know how to block him out but you... He'll read you like an open book." She bit the pad of her thumb, trying to think of a solution.
"Here, how about The ethics of the Human Psychic: An essay by Theo TsukiBotsu
So he can read all about how reading peoples minds indiscriminately is offensive, and a strict abridgment of someone personal space. Of course he really just needs to read mine once more, and I won't have to print the paper, but still. Of course he is probably just a heartless human being, ego-manically bent on proving that he is above not only common pleasantries, but also respect for others lives." Theo said, with undiluted sarcasm.
"Ein nii-san isn't a bad person, he may have a few rough spots in his personality but generally he doesn't try to delve into our minds without cause." Nevaeh replied, "Obviously we'll have to share at least partial thoughts on the situation since he's the one who informed us about it..." She frowned, I thought they were safe... I thought they'd be able to live normal lives... If I'd known they'd be targeted again I'd have stuck around to protect them...
Theo picked up feelings of regret, guilt, and obvious sadness from Nevaeh. While this made him realize that, now was probably not the time to go and berate her on her friends, he also realized that he was in a way doing the same thing that Ein was. He didn't actually intend to read her emotions, as he didn't particularly have control over that ability yet, however assuming he did, he just violated her own personal space by that same token. Theo sighed, as he flagged down the taxi coming towards them, and was irritated that he may have to go through his own ethical dilemma. When is it, and is it not okay? Theo opened the door, and held it for Neveah to get in. "Your choice where we go next."
"I've... got a few contacts at the morgue, we'll start there." Nevaeh replied firmly, pushing back her emotions as she approached the car, "Figure out how they died, times, everything we can. This is going to be a pretty tough case, but it needs to be solved preferably before more people die." She tugged out her cell, "I've got a few messages of warning to send out." She muttered as she eased into the car and gave the driver their destination.
"Sounds like a plan." Theo did his best to re-constrain his empathy, as he closed the door after he jumped in. Though he did get an awkward whiff from the taxi driver as he heard their destination. A sort of disgust mixed with curiosity. He blocked it out, and contemplated their destination. "Hyde would be very useful, with his particular,...metric...capabilities, in this scenario. It's a shame we can't enlist his aide." Theo said, speaking in low tones to Nevaeh's ear.
"Hyde isn't really into this sort of thing." Nevaeh replied just as low, "He wouldn't be happy with my investigations as it is." She frowned as they pulled up before the building and she handed the driver their fare, "Better get this over with." She sighed, jerking open her door.
"Oy,..." Theo followed after her.
Nevaeh led the way in, waving at the receptionist briefly before heading down to the morgue, "You here?" She called, looking for her mortician friend.
"Somehow I had a feeling you'd be here." Peeking around from the corner, a rather short man, dressed from head to toe nearly in protective gear. Well, gear for his job anyway. Thin glasses peeked out behind a greying mane, and he peeled off the elbow high gloves, tossing them into the sink behind him. "Here for questions about the recent string?"
"You know me well," Nevaeh pocketed her hands and glanced around, "They were all... Well, let's just say I knew them briefly." She made a face, "I want to know what happened, as much information as you can give me on them. Maybe figure out if these killings have been going on for a while or if they just started up... This, by the way, is a friend of mine," She waved Theo forward.
"They were each killed a different way. I can't find anything really that connects them besides the fact that the weapon used, was sharper than anything I've ever seen. And some of the wounds, let's just say things go from a clean kill, to pretty messy. One of the victims was pretty effectively dismembered. It seems like more than one person is doing this, the only thing is no markings other than what the blade caused. No bruising, no skin under the fingernails. Not a single fingerprint anywhere. The people doing this are being really careful."
"Interesting,..." Theo said inspecting them both. "No known weapon, only that it was very sharp. So these weren't bullets. Were there any witnesses to the murders?"
"Probably not." Nevaeh responded thoughtfully, "The killer- or killers as the case may be... Are too professional to leave evidence of any sort, let alone leave any witnesses behind... Doc, I'd appreciate maybe a copy of the autopsy reports for later review... I think this matter may not be appropriate for the mindset of the police."
"Witnesses? I wouldn't know that now, kid. I only know what the victim tells. And that isn't very much right now. But I do know this. Whoever did this, enjoyed hunting the person. There were still high levels of adrenaline and other fear induced hormones in the blood. They knew this was coming. And it scared the hell out of them." He moved to a small desk, scooping up a file and handing it to Nevaeh. "Oh, and one more thing, your friend, Ein dropped by as well. Seems you're not the only one looking into this. He also managed to get a copy of the police report. Though how I couldn't imagine."
"Oh, yeah, ofcourse that makes sense." Theo said, realizing how private investigating was not his forte.
Nevaeh frowned, "Ein nii-san stopped in? How curious..." She muttered, accepting the file, "Thanks, doc... I really appreciate the help." She said, tone mildly distracted as she flipped through the papers, "Whoever did this... They'll be brought to justice." She snapped the file closed a few minutes later, "They'd best enjoy their freedom while it lasts."
"Thank you again." Theo said as he began to make for the door with Nevaeh and the file. "Another taxi should be here momentarily. What's our next stop?"
"I thought it odd of him as well, but no matter. Seems he's shown an interest in this case as well. Nothing wrong with that." The Mortician gave a hearty laugh, face wrinkling slightly with the expression. "I expect your best work on this one Nevaeh, don't let them down." He laughed again, waving the pair off before returning to his work.
"I'll stop by later if I find anything." Nevaeh called to the mortician, clutching the file to her side as they left the building, she was silent for a moment as she thought over what the next step would be, "I need to view the crime scenes."She said at last, drawing in a calming breath, "These reports say a fair bit, but seeing where everything happened... Well, it'll help figure out who did this, and may even help with the why and how..."
The taxi pulled up as they walked from the building. "Alright, whichever crime scene you want, I guess lets go, then we can stop back to the house when we are finished with the places." Theo figured a couple more hours of this, than reconvening and going over any potential clues.
Several long hours later Nevaeh gave instructions for the taxi driver to take herself and Theo back to her place. Once they pulled up to the curb she gave the man his fare and leapt from the backseat, tucking the files and her notebook into her satchel, "Well, I'm going to try to put things into some sort of order." She said, turning to Theo, "Supper'll be late if you care to join us tonight."
"Hyde, look at this." Ein murmured, handing the police report he'd apprehended earlier in the day to his roommate. He was still flipping through the autopsy report, boredly at that. It didn't really seem to peak his interest all that much anyway, he was just covering his bases for when their little trouble maker made her move. At least he'd have a starting point then, and with the nudge to it, he knew her well enough that her inquisitive nature wouldn't let her just brush it off.
Theo wondered at that comment. HE pretty much figured at this point he had no choice but stick with her. He had no intentions of ending like every other psychic that involved themselves with her and ended up dead, and to him the only way to prevent that was to stick together. It was already way to late for him, he had a feeling he was already a target. There had been seveal moments where his mind had felt on fire over the past time they'd been apart. Where when the day laid out infront of him seemed normal, the paths all pretty much the same possibilities they'd always been. Sad way of looking out at the paths of the future his brain was constantly showing him, but after a while you realize most of those paths lead to the same place; when strange flashes of people attacking him, that fled just as fast as they appeared in his mind. Like maybe a moment where that was a possibility, had things gone differently, but instead that option was eliminated. He had no visions of anything now, but instead just a distant feeling of danger, like watching your opponent approach slowly to the fighting mat for a large fight.
"Yeah, I don't really intend to leave before this is all over anyway Neveah, so dinner would be nice."
Hyde glanced at the papers that Ein handed to him, eyebrow raised, "Aren't these people... psychic?" He asked after a moment of silence, cringing as he remembered them from various files that Nevaeh had kept.
"Right." Nevaeh nodded, hand on the doorknob, "I'll see if Hyde nii-san minds me cleaning out the spare bedroom... You could stay there for now, need to figure out what to tell your parents though so they don't worry about where you are."
"Yeah, and I have a feeling princess is going to be snooping around it as well. Figured we might as well get the jump. Can't have a repeat of last time..." Ein's attention went straight to the door, a faint frown tugging at his lips when he heard the slight jiggle of the knob. "She's back, with company."
"Thank you, and I will think of something. Mom won't mind for a little while, but I will have to go back eventually." Theo said, getting a whiff of emotion on the other side of the door. It was a funny sensation, having a 6th and now 7th sense. He knew that Ein and Hyde were on the other side because he could see their various potential reactions, and he could also feel them on the other side. He was focusing on neither input, so he didn't know what they were doing for sure, or how they were really feeling, but he could discern both.
"I understand, we'll try to get this case resolved as soon as possible." Nevaeh replied with a curt nod as she flipped the lock and pushed open the door, "With Ein nii-san looking into the case as well... We may be able to convince him to help up out in tracking down leads. As much as I hate to get him involved in something like this... I know that he's more than capable of defending himself... He may even be more open-minded to my involvement in the case if he's able to help out."
"I'm home!" Nevaeh called as she entered the house with Theo, "Look who I've got with me!"
Hyde frowned, "I'd rather she didn't get involved in these cases anymore. I would figure that after last time she'd have learned her lesson..." His voice dropped as Nevaeh's filtered down the hall towards the kitchen, clearing his throat he gave a call back, "We're in the kitchen."
"I'll tail her for now. Keep her out of too much trouble. Won't do any good to try and stop her anyway." Ein shrugged, turning away and heading towards the den. He stopped briefly in the hallway, glancing back for a moment, and when he did, the half empty coffee mug sitting on the counter began to rattle, before lifting off and following his fleeing form. "Dinner's almost ready." He mumbled, before plopping down on the couch, mug coming to a clattering stop on the end table.
Theo walked in, and greeted Hyde with a smile and a nod, and glanced quickly at Ein.
"Aww, it was my night to cook..." Nevaeh pouted briefly as she rummaged in the fridge and grabbed a couple cans of soda, "I guess I'll be in my room, have a lot to do. Coming, Theo-san?"
"Just a moment, Nevaeh..." Hyde frowned, blocking her path, "I know what you're up to and I don't like it."
"Wha-" Nevaeh was silenced with a raise of his hand.
"I don't like it... But I know why you're doing it. If you get yourself into trouble like the last time... Well, I may just decide to keep you confined to your room. Don't be so reckless, you understand?" Hyde raised his eyebrow questioningly.
"Of course I do, nii-san." Nevaeh beamed briefly, "I promise I'll try and be a little more subtle."
"That's all I ask."
Your little sidekick as well, he's still vulnerable. If you get in too deep, even if you wriggle your way out of it, he might not be able too. So don't be reckless. Ein's only visible que he was actually in on the conversation was the sharp glance he cut Nevaeh. Well, that and the similar stare he'd given Theo. "And as for your turn to cook, I just didn't think I could stomach dinner with the breakfast you made..."
They, knew? Well good. It's not like accomplishments would be made any easier without help. But that they didn't want to help confused Theo to no end. Weren't all of their lives on the line?
"I am sorry Neveah, but if they know, then subtly aside I am confused. Aren't you guys scared at all that a series of psychics were murdered, and you are known targets by whoever this is? I mean, that guy got away, and I am sure he is pissed that Neveah didn't spill her guts through interrogation, so he could spill them literally afterwords. If the point to what Neveah is doing is protecting psychics, why don't you want in?" Theo knew there was a lot else that he wasn't aware of between this strange bunch, but either way at least now he was going to find out.
Nevaeh frowned, "Sheesh, Ein nii-san, you act like I don't know what I'm doing." Just because I'm a little more reckless when I'm alone doesn't mean I'm the same way when I've got another person's life in my hands... She thought to herself, And my cooking isn't bad! Just because he doesn't have adventurous tastes...
"I'm sorry to say that detective work isn't my forte." Hyde said, leaning against the counter with a frown, "I've never been any good at it. Despite the fact that people much like ourselves are being slain... The three of us are rarely alone, and even if we are... We're more than capable of taking care of ourselves for the most part... We are not fools and will take proper precautions for this situation."
"I take if you were expecting me to forget the last time the two of you got involved in something like this? If I hadn't made it to you just in time, well, let's just say we wouldn't be having this argument now." Ein sighed, picking up his mug and draining it's contents in frustration. "And I'm just interested on keeping my own head on my shoulders. If they aren't strong enough to do the same, or at least smart enough...I don't have much sympathy."
"Hey if you think you can survive on your own against an organization with similar capabilities and much much larger number, at least most likely, then sure. But I would say, and I know this might sound crazy, and I am leaping here...but we are going to be a freakish minority. I am going to give you a simple equation right here. Minority plus Power equal Hositility. We are a minority, and we have a ton of power, we are going to get hostility. I dunno about ein here, but those poor other psychics don't have anyone else to get their backs, and I know I easily could have been in one of their positions had it happened to me. These are people's lives, and they are people like me, I can't stand by and just let it happen, nor do I think it's safe too. Picking off the weak and alone is fine for now, but soon we will be the only ones left, there can't be that many psychics around here can there?"
Theo stated, tone fluctuating to an errant monologue to full out rant now and again, but passion was a clear tone in his voice.
"Hey, we're jumping to conclusions here." Nevaeh shook her head, "Ein nii-san, the issue last time was a simple error on my part, and it really isn't fair to assume that something like that will happen again... As for Theo-san getting involved at that time... really it was just a matter of being in the wrong place at the right time...
"Also... we can't really assume that there's a whole organization out there that's behind this. It's thought to be an individual or two and at least one of them is smart enough to cover his tracks and keep from leaving behind any incriminating evidence..."
"And if he's targeting our kind, it's fair to assume that most of our abilities he'll know about. Which makes them fairly ineffective. So once again, you're probably getting in way over your head. And what if he's one of us? You're main adept Nevaeh, isn't effective against other telepaths. What are you going to do to defend yourself?" Ein frowned, standing from his seat and walking from the room. "And he's in a worse predicament than you. Last I saw, he could barely even control it."
Theo confused at that last statement and didn't know to what Ein was referring. But he was reminded of his first meeting with Neveah. "The men in suits that chased Neveah and I down back alleys...I thought they were a part of this whole thing. I guess I could be wrong, but one moment we are being chased, the next you have been taken hostage by a telepath so strong he jumped in my vision and shut me down, from like, 20 miles away. Just saying I guess no matter what we need to be careful...we don't know what they are capable and how well they are following us...ugh.
Nevaeh stuck her tongue out at Ein's back, "Well, we can work in my room on theories while I get my notes organized. Then we'll be out for supper." She said to Theo, "I'd appreciate not being bothered until then." She glanced briefly at Hyde and then Ein, "It'll make my work easier not to be interupted until I'm ready."
"You're being just plain childish now Nevaeh." Ein muttered, even though he hadn't so much as glanced back at them. "And as for you kid, I'm saying...you're weak." He put it as plainly as possible, grumbling something surely obscene under his breath before disappearing into the kitchen.
"If I am weak you are a fool. I am a nationally acclaimed black belt. I am confident in my own strength, and know that I have so much to learn about psychics and until I do, I am vulnerable. But if you think you are invincible, you're a fool. Good luck with that, hope it works well for you." Theo said, walking past Neveah towards her room. He was diligently scanning his foresight for any sort of attack, but made sure to calmly walk up to her room.
"Well, that was interesting." Nevaeh said, mildly amused as she closed her door behind them, she ventured over to her desk and scooped the piles of papers, books, and notebookes aside as she set the reports and her current notes in their place.
"Physical strength means nothing when going against those like ourselves." Ein actually let a hint of a snarl slip past his normally stoic expression, recomposing himself gracefully afterwards. "I'll just say this, if you get Nevaeh hurt because you can't watch your own ass, I'll kill you myself..."
"If you are unwilling to help us and she gets hurt, then you should do the same to yourself." Theo said, turning from the door as Neveah closed it. "I really don't know how you put up with that. Either way, I suppose we should get started. Any ideas where that should be?"
"Knowing him for a long time really helps," Nevaeh made a face, "He and Nii-san are way to overprotective of me, I can take care of myself."
She pulled out of Japan and pinned it to the wall, "First thing I want to do is rewrite my notes with a bit more detail, I also want to pinpoint on the map where these bodies were dumped... See if there's a discernable
pattern..."
Theo set out to do an amazing job of holding the pins for her, and placing them in the spots she instructed. Hoping to get this through as soon as possible. He daydreamed about just what in the world would be going on from here on out. These little steps were irritating, so the slow approach he enjoyed with science, though it made him anxious for results, and the total opposite of the fast approach with martial arts. He could only wonder how much time and energy would have to be spent by them to make any progress. Sure, Their powers would allow them to approach the source when found, but either way, they still had to do information gathering the hard way. Though...between his empathy and particularly foresight, Ein's telepathy, and very much Hyde's psychometric they really should be able to do this at a much faster rate. He sought out to brainstorm various ways to speed up this information process. He also realized, he wasn't quite sure what Neveah could do, besides mind control.
"Neveah, what else do you have up your sleeve, by the way. I after fighting the lunatic, and fighting your captor know Ein, and Hyde pretty well. But you?"
Nevaeh frowned, her gaze unfocused on the map as she took in the locations of all the pins. How... odd, She thought to herself, Most of these are near the school... Near our home. How could we not have learned of the murders before now? She bit the pad of her thumb as she mentally went over all the details she'd been able to take note of but even so it didn't make much sense. Gifted individuals that she'd rescued and known personally- most of them, anyway; to immediately toss out the idea that their deaths weren't connected to her in some way would be foolish...
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts Nevaeh turned her gaze to Theo and smiled vaguely, "It really isn't wise to divulge all of one's abilities to each other. Friend or not... something could happen to you; to any of us... With our abilities revealed we could be put into a pretty tight spot."
"Oh I see, that makes sense I guess. I mean I would keep things from you and all, but I still need everyone's help figuring things out. I suppose I will just have to trust you." Theo said, in a bemused tone.
'Nevaeh, Hyde, dinner's ready.' Ein called out, he was perched in the corner, mildly bemused by the occurrences upstairs. Theo was still naive, leaving him as an open book to Ein, so everything they did, he could see clear as day. It really was such a shame they had so little information still, but then again, he'd set everything up that way, even had quite a bit of the information falsified. It was a good thing for him that Neveah trusted the doctor enough to just take it at his notes, that kook of a mortician was even easier to play than the teens upstairs, he would make a good puppet for a while to come.
"It's not that I'm trying to keep things from you, but that things are dangerous right now..." Nevaeh stood and stretched, "In any case lets head down for supper, it's been a long day... I'll clear out the guest room for you later; before or after that we can go ahead and get some of your things so you're not without basic needs."
Hyde sat with the front two legs of his chair a few inches off the floor, rocking distractedly as he twirled an old photograph in his grasp. It was well worn; probably taken in the early thirties or the late twenties... Occasionally he got a sense of the atmosphere and a kind of peace settled over him. He'd used the photo to center himself on more than one occasion and he needed it now moreso than before. Laying before him was a large textbook, notecards sticking out at odd angles from many of the pages. Taking a deep breath he began to read, midterms were coming up and he needed to be sure that he knew everything that was needed; he also needed to make sure that his ability wouldn't interfere with the test as it had done previously- giving him glimpses of the answers... His stomach rumbled its protest when Ein called for him, though he ignored the call; ten more minutes and he'd probably head down, anyway...
The sun was rapidly setting as the last ships were pulling into Tokyo Harbor for the night. The business day was over but everything still had to be unloaded. Random men went to work, bells and whistles going off as engines powered down. One of the ships, the Yehoshi Maru II, came from halfway around the world in Great Britain. The original Yehoshi Maru carried human cargo to Elis Island in the early 1900s, the newly commissioned II was used for import and export of goods to the heart of Japan. However, deep in the bowels of the huge ship, behind all of the boxes filled with various imports, held a stowaway. After being on this ship for over a month, moving from port to port, and being on the run in general for even longer, Jason was looking worse for wear. Scraggly hair that only held a memory of the bleached blond as his natural brown was growing in. His minor stubble on his chin turning into a full blown beard, brown to match his hair but adorned with a few red stands here and there. His once tan skin has paled from the years of incarceration and the month in the depths of this ship. His clothes, the powder blue jumpsuit with his serial number embroidered on the shirt, turned to a dull gray and smelt of mold, sweat and piss. The poor boy did not even have shoes on him, having never been allowed them in prison nor the asylum for various reasons. On the floor next to him was a pile of rotting rat tails, for it was the rats that had been sustaining him this whole time.
The noises finally died down as all the ship’s crew left for the evening. Jason decided it was time to return to the outside world. He got to his feet, the waves making the boat rock, and shambled toward the hatch. Thankfully, it was left open to make the morning crew’s lives easier. He peered outside, the streetlight making him squint after spending so much time in total black. He saw security guards patrolling the docks and, oddly enough, they looked some sort or Asian. Where the fuck am I? He saw strange characters on signs along the docks. “Son of a bitch, I’m in goddamn China!” Of course, Jason was quite wrong, as he had actually found his way to Japan, but he wouldn’t figure that out until later. Jason began wandering the pier, still dazed and quite hungry. He looked so disheveled that the few people that were still out were staring and pointing at his unkempt appearance. Finally a police officer came over, “Oy! Dare desu ka? Nani shitemasu ka?” Jason looked over, seeing the officer coming closer, and panicked. No, he was not about to go back to prison, especially in a country that didn’t speak English. He ran. Whistles sounded as the officer called for backup. Jason quickly climbed up a fire escape on the side of a run down building. The rusted metal giving way and falling to the ground as soon as Jason had made it to the top. From there he bounded off into the darkness via the rooftops. Jason had always been very fast and agile, years of being captured and always managing to escape. The boy wasn't too smart, but damn was he lucky. The cops lost the trail before they could even begin searching.
Back to Distorted Perceptions
Informative- DP lesson
On to- DP Ch.2-Continuation
Stumble!