OPEN POST II

[formidable]

MUSELIST This a post where I'll RP anything with you! Got a scenario in mind? I'LL DO IT. If you wanna chat IDEAS.GIF, contact me at maiscribbles or my Discord (Maiscribbles#6780). Have at it! ➢ Cool Mood Music No. 1 ➤ Cool Mood Music No. 2

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[godly]

Rumors? Of what?

[Now there’s an ominous text if he’s ever read one — which naturally only piques a perpetual curiosity.]

[deathline]

People disappearing. Or if they don't disappear, they try to get to the other side and just end up back where they started as if going in a circle.

Touko had me look into it, but I didn't see anything at least during the day. Nighttime might be a different story.

[godly]

And you’re sending me to that vicinity at night.

I can take a look.

[deathline]

[She wrinkles her nose at the reply before typing back.]

You're gonna become a missing person case because of ice cream?

Good luck, I guess.

If there is anything in there, try not to get noticed.

[godly]

No. The ice cream has nothing to do with it.

[The allure of unspooling something unknown, which is in turn an instance of anything other than the doldrums of this night — this week, this month. That alone is worth a subtle, careful look.]

I’m only going to see if there’s anything present. I’ll be careful. It’s not like I can fend off a threat with a carton of ice cream in-hand.

[deathline]

You're the type of person who gets fascinated by keys being dangled in front of you aren't you?

[Shiki grunts as she swings her legs over the side of the bed and straightens out her kimono before reaching for her shoes.]

[godly]

I’m not reckless if that’s what you’re trying to say.

[Out the door he goes.]

I’m surprised you’re not taking the opportunity to look into it yourself.

[deathline]

I did in the morning. Kokuto's been looking into people who disappeared around the area so I was just gonna wait for him to catch up.

[She splashes water on her face before she throws on her strawberry red jacket.]

Do you have anything to defend yourself with? You're a policeman's kid, you oughta have something.

[godly]

I’ll be fine. I told you, I don’t intend to instigate anything beyond what I think I can handle.

[Sure, Light.

Though to his credit, he won’t go running in, metaphorical guns a-blazing.]

Worry about your strawberry ice cream for now.

[deathline]

If it melts, maybe you won't have to pick up any for me next time.

[She won't say so, but she is going to make her way over to the convenience store where Light and the mysterious alleyway is so there's a lull in any texts from her for a few minutes.]

[godly]

You shouldn't have told me that. Maybe I'll leave it out somewhere warm before I deliver it to you now.

[Does he possess the level of pettiness, somewhere deep down, to follow up on this new, novel idea? Probably. Does he intend to? No. Their exchange might be dry (or sharp around the edges, depending on the day/night), but Light regards Shiki in a somewhat favorable light. The pun isn't intended.

Nothing else from either texter for a good handful of minutes. Until-]

What's your second favorite flavor?

[deathline]

[They're an odd pair, the two of them although people will always find her and Mikiya the odder one if only because one half of them was too entirely sincere. The differences between her and Light were also quite stark in their own way, but there was a streak of similarity in the way they talked to each other.

She makes another face when she reads his message, pausing as she steps out of her apartment building.

Her answer?]

I don't eat any other flavors.



I heard rum raisin's good though.

[godly]

[Helpful as always.]

You don’t or you choose not to?

Strawberry’s out, I’ll see what else there is to choose from.

[deathline]

I'll eat whatever you choose then. But it better not be some weird flavor.

If you checked out the alley already, did anything seem off to you?

[godly]

[Wouldn’t it be something if he chose a flavor that was purposefully weird for the sake of spiting her? It would certainly lessen the chances of her calling upon him for more midnight outings, fetching superfluous items in the dairy section to suit her fancy. But Light can be disdainful, not necessarily antagonistic; besides, he would have long detached himself from this very odd, very tenuous friendship if these passing whims truly bothered him.]

Don’t worry. No cruel surprises tonight.

[He does, in fact, choose Rum Raisin after a bit of searching.]

I haven’t. I thought it would be more prudent to wait for you. How long until you arrive?

[It’s a simultaneous call-out as it is proof of knowing her personality. Her likelihood of bullying someone into performing a mundane task is about equal to her likelihood of showing up to a scene, a situation, the promise of information-gathering skewed to her interests.]

[deathline]

[Ah.

Well, of course, he would figure it out quickly enough. Light Yagami had a way of reducing and predicting a persons' movements. In that way, Shiki wasn't very complicated especially when it came to her basic habits. ]

10 minutes.

There's no one else around?

[godly]

There isn’t.

[The night is quiet, marked by silence along a usually busy street, a usually busy sidewalk. Even the inside of the convenience store had felt next to barren, minus the stalwart night owl employee who had tended to his transaction.]

I’ll wait for you outside.

[And so he will. Light stands near the corner of the building’s exterior, keeping a keen eye out for a certain red jacket. A small plastic bag is hung at the crook of an elbow, his arms crossed as he waits as patiently as he can manage.]

[deathline]

[During their first encounter a year or two ago, Shiki Ryougi wore her red jacket paired with a yellow kimono and had a good-natured rapport with Light.

The Shiki of the present day is walking up to the convenience store now, red jacket, blue kimono, and her laced up boots. It's exceptionally rare to see her wear anything else. And she doesn't greet him with a smile (she is not a warm person) or a wave. Just a nod of acknowledgment and eyeing the bag hanging on his elbow.]

So you haven't disappeared yet. Fortune favors the bold as they say.

[godly]

[Light’s like a chameleon, or a mirror — he’s used to transforming his countenance to reflect his company when necessary, putting on a polite grin or touting himself as benign. But Shiki never did care for such pleasantries or social expectations, and Light reflects that to a degree, too; or perhaps it’s a sliver of his sincere preferences, the mask not so much as slipped as never applied, and he doesn’t have more than an immediate reply as a greeting.]

Misfortune finds the bold just as often as fortune, too. Like I said, I haven’t started properly looking.

[Ah, but it’s very much like Light to correct, to be the one who’s right, quick to sweep aside useless cliches.

He holds out the bag to her, unwilling to bear the ice cream burden for her sake any longer than necessary.]

This is yours.

[deathline]

[She accepts the bag and it transfers onto her elbow.]

Thanks. Anyway...

[And now for the urban oddity of the night. Her expression is inscrutable as ever when looking towards the dark alleyway.

In fact, Shiki notes that it's super dark as she approaches it until she's a safe yard away.]

I can't even see the other end of this area. The lights on this side aren't illuminating anything.

[godly]

[She’s right, of course. ‘Round that same corner is the alleyway in question, shrouded down its length by a darkness that can only be called unnatural. Some of the street lights should illuminate the path, if dimly — even the fluorescent wrap-around convenience store signage should offer a mote of lurid visibility, but there’s none to be found there, either.

Looking at it now, it’s a bit like an open maw of a creature beckoning them in. Thankfully, Light isn’t the sort to work on complete impulse — as long as his patience remains slotted in place, that is.]

You said that individuals would either disappear down this alley, or reset their path back to where they started. That would be here, where we’re standing, correct?

[The mouth of the alleyway.]

[deathline]

Correct.

[Shiki takes out her phone and taps on the flashlight function. When it activates, she points her phone directly in front of the alley.

The light still doesn't reach.]

Hm. Not entirely sure if we're dealing with something that's considered living.

[godly]

This is your wheelhouse, not mine.

[In a different world, nestled down the length of an alternate timeline, Light would be no stranger to supernatural goings-on and their machinations. He would utilize them to his own advantage, shake the very foundations of the world in an attempt to wring out change — but here and now, standing at the mouth of a dark and ominous alleyway, such expertise lies with her. It’s an easy admittance, even for him; he cannot pretend to have dealt with the same entities that stalk the city, the nighttime hours, as Shiki. Rare is the time when Light allows someone to take the lead, but her suggestions are often weighted more heavily than most in circumstances such as these.

Even so, he’s apt to indulge in his own whims of experimentation. A hand dives into his pocket, pinches a coin of loose change between forefinger and thumb.]

I’ll follow your suggestions on how to proceed, but we shouldn’t throw ourselves in blindly.

[Not themselves, at least.

Without preamble, Light pulls his arm back and tosses the coin down the alleyway. It spins in the air, catching moonlight, before disappearing into the darkness. He listens for sound. And he listens for silence, which would be just as telling. Or will it come careening right back from behind them, caught in a loop?]

[deathline]

[The person she was two years ago is so different from her in the present day and although they restarted their acquaintanceship, Shiki never fully divulged the nature of that drastic personality change. What she did make clear sooner than later to Light was that she was not normal and the things she sought or was sent after were out of the realm of that. He just inadvertently, such as right now, also gets a glimpse of that world due to her leading him to it.

The coin disappears into the inky black and soupy shadow. At first there's no reaction. But before Shiki can make a remark, the ground rumbles beneath their feet followed by the sound of gnashing teeth.

Shiki blinks and then looks back at Light.]

Well. Guess whatever's in there is hungry.

[She reaches for the knife sheathed and hidden in the back of her kimono, before deciding against it.]

I'll go in.

[godly]

[A shake beneath their feet, the sound of gnashing. It isn't a grand mental leap to assume that whatever lies in there, it won't be particularly friendly. He'll not be seeing his coin again, at any rate.

A pointed look at Shiki, frowning.]

Wait. And what about me? I can wait for a minute or two, but if you don't return, you can't expect me to remain idle or just walk away.