week 3 - investigation

[vicedirector]

seven vices case 3 - investigation ♫ friday On Friday morning, everyone will wake up with all of their (warranted or unwarranted, jesus how many of y'all had shitty lives before murdertown) grief fulfilled. Whatever it is they've lost--they've found it again. Anyone heading out into the lobby will notice that the statue is gone. And that can only mean one thing. >Investigate? cast setting

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[hopefragment]

[Well it's a good thing there's two strong, stoic people here, because Hinata will scream for them both, a horrified yell that's only partly muffled by his hand in front of his mouth. Because holy shit, there's dead, then there's hella fucking dead.

He has to close his eyes and take a deep breath before he can even try to look toward the other body. He honestly feels like he's going to faint, but he can't do that until he sees who else is there.]

[vicedirector]

[ The other body, also laying on its back, is in a similar condition to Zelos--innards, blood, the whole nine yards. So, Youko is also really fucking dead. ]

[princessantly]

[ LOOK, ALISHA KNOWS BETTER THAN TO SCREAM-- but she does bite back a horrified noise, staggering and almost falling to her knees but that's a lot of blood on the floor and everywhere and Youko-- ]

Who could have even-- this-- a beast?

[ Alisha's having difficulties, struggling to remember how to breathe even if she looks around the body to see if there's anything around that... you know, wasn't once in Youko. ]

[symbologic]

[Boy was Faize's concern ever misplaced. Goddamn, Hinata. He puts his hands on Alisha's shoulders as she staggers backwards.]

Hinata....perhaps you should go and alert the others. Let them know where the bodies are.

[Since somebody clearly can't handle this at all. WHERE IS SOMEBODY ELSE STOIC WHEN YOU NEED THEM. HE CAN'T DO THIS ALONE.] Alisha...are you going to be alright?

[If you want to check out the rest of the room and leave the bodies to hi, that's fine? He can do it.]

[hopefragment]

[WOW. Except Faize is not wrong. Hinata has a hand clutched to his mouth, even though he isn't about to scream a second time. He's too shocked and pale for that now, not to mention that if he tries to make a sound, he'll probably fall to his knees and vomit, and there's enough vomit in this town from Rhys already??

No matter where he looks, there's blood and organs and-- yeah, he's outtie. He just nods weakly in response to Faize's request, stumbling backward out of the room. Except before he can alert the others, he's going to carefully check out the multipurpose room, trying to compose himself enough that he'll be able to do something other than shake like a leaf when he tries to report back.]

[vicedirector]

[ There's no other clues in the schoolhouse, extra room or otherwise, that aren't corpse-related. Lucky you! ]

[princessantly]

[ NO, probably not, she's likely going to need another cry behind the hotel later-- but for now, Alisha nods, covering Faize's hands briefly with her own and sucking in a deep breath.

No knight shirks away from a duty right in front of them, after all, even if that duty is very dead and very gross. ]

... I'll be fine. [ Eventually. ] Let's... see what we can learn.

[ She sounds about as enthusiastic as Hinata volunteering for bullying duty. ]

[symbologic]

Mmm. [He nods, giving her shoulder a light squeeze before moving away.] I will start with Zelos then. Though...if you'd rather not examine Youko more closely, that's alright. I'm sure there's plenty to be learned from just the state of the room.

[He crouches down next to Zelos's body for a closer look. Alright, what we got here? Aside from a lot of guts where they shouldn't be. Is there anything that immediately stands out just by looking over the body.]

[princessantly]

I'll do my fair share. [ firmly. FAIZE DOESN'T NEED TO GO BODY-DIVING MORE THAN ONCE-- but gingerly, she lowers herself to examine Youko in much the same way. Anything worth noting about this poor dead soul besides her being hella dead? ]

[vicedirector]

[ On Zelos, Faize will be able to notice some strange markings on his shoulder/collarbone area.

On Youko, Alisha can see that her eyes are still halfway open, and a bit strange. ]

[symbologic]

[Faize leans in closer to get a better look at the markings. Does it have anything to do with that gold plate/crystal thing mentioned on his profile? Did those get ripped out or something?]

[Or are these markings more like stab/slash wounds or bruises from a beating?]

[princessantly]

[ SHE STILL HAS HER EYES, RIGHT-- ugh this is a great day, staring into the eyes of a corpse. What's so strange about them? ]

[vicedirector]

[ Youko does indeed still have her eyes, but her pupils are dilated to hell and back. There's also something on her fingers.

As for Zelos, no, they look distinctively like scratch marks. Suitably red and a little bloody. ]

[symbologic]

[Is it possible to tell if the scratches were made by human fingernails or by claws? He'll put his own nails against the wounds for comparison. Just for the heck of it.]

[Also, just to be sure reading comprehension is not failing, does that mean the plate and crystal are both still accounted for? ]

[princessantly]

[ Dilated... Alisha will make a note of that in a little murmur, before she reaches for Youko's hand - and thankfully, she's got gloves - to examine her fingers. Is it blood? ]

[vicedirector]

[ Fingernails look more likely. The crystal is gone, but the plate is still in place.

Speaking of, Alisha will find blood and skin underneath Youko's nails. Theory confirmed...? ]

[symbologic]

[Duly noted on both counts. Though he can't help but wonder where that crystal went. Is it still in the room somewhere, maybe??? He'll have to look later, though obviously he's not going to find it.]

[Faize will check the other intact parts of Zelos's body, moving aside clothes as necessary to see if there are any more scratch marks to be found. And what about his fingernails? Anything underneath them? If somebody was close enough to scratch him, there's a chance they probably had a bit of a struggle before...uh. Organs. Everywhere.]

[princessantly]

Faize-- [ Calling over to him, and if her voice sounds fainter than usual, that's fine. At least it's steady for now, even as she's looking over the rest of Youko's body (or at least the parts that aren't as mangled) to see if anything else looks particularly strange. ]

It looks as though she scratched somebody-- she must have struggled.

[vicedirector]

[ There's also a few scattered red hairs on the floor between them. Looking at Zelos, it's an easy match.

Zelos has a few light bruises in the same vicinity, but nothing big besides Evisceration Power Hour 2k16. Youko also has a few on her arms/shoulders. ]

[symbologic]

Youko has...human fingernails, right? [He's never actually spoken to her but apparently she's some kind of shapeshifting fox? Claws seem like a possibility.] If so, I believe we may have already found the person she struggled with, and subsequently scratched.

[Zelos's hairs go unnoticed for the moment, as Faize has finally turned his attention to inside-on-the-outside organpalooza instead. So uh...if he (gently) digs around in there, is he going to find anything other than organs? Or anything weird on/about the organs?] Zelos's crystal is unaccounted for, as well, though the plate is still here.

[princessantly]

Sir Zelos? [ Wait-- she's not about to go organ-digging (she has Limits), but as she looks around... ] That's some of his hair, on the ground, and she's got some bruises on her arms...

But I don't understand. Even if the two of them fought, I can't see either of them being able to... rip each other apart like this. Did someone come across them fighting and take advantage of it?

[ ... Either way, it's pretty sickening. ]

[vicedirector]

[ They and the surrounding skin are shredded up like deli meat but unless he can identify specific types of wounds, nada.

And there is one more thing, too. Take a look at Zelos's eyes. ]

[symbologic]

[If the wounds were made by a blade of some type, he can! If not, that's gonna have to be somebody else's department.]

[But wow, okay, sure, now you tell me about the eyes. After he already went digging through organs FOR NOTHING. What's up with those? They better not be missing...]

Mmm, no, I don't think it would be possible for them to simultaneously do this to one another, you're right. And I'm not sure we'd have to go to trial if the culprit was...also a victim. [Somehow that just seems really pointless.]

I have no doubt there's at third person involved. Possibly even a fourth, since two bodies means an accomplice actually stands to profit. [A pause.] Though...I suppose technically one of these two could be considered an accomplice. Depending upon how it all played out.

[princessantly]

[ See, when in doubt, it's always best to stare into a dead person's eyes. ]

... Which is what we'll have to solve for ourselves tomorrow. I can't find much else on her, except that her pupils are oddly large...

[vicedirector]

[ Fortunately no, his eyes are intact. But his pupils are also dilated.

Other than that, there's nothing else to be found in the schoolhouse. ]