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Tweak says, "Love me some pie!"

Shirai Reizo | 白井雷三 (some_other_dog) wrote in disappear_plot,
@ 2010-08-05 18:16:00

Noodle Alley is a familiar place to all but the most shut-in of Nanakamado students, and so is the cold lump of dread that settles into their stomach at the thought of Reizo Shirai.

Today, the normally bustling Noodle Alley toils under a washed out stretch of sky, the clients' usual vigor and mirth curtailed by the news of the most recent death and the gang and youth violence that has exploded in the area. Most of the diners wear strained smiles when they joke and laugh, but here and there the crowds are peppered with faces set in grim determination, shoulders hunched and posture tense as they soldier through their meals.

Worst amongst them are the ex-Nanakamado students who know just who’s responsible for the recent savagery and that once he is caught there will be no just penalty for him. The students, most of them paired off into two or threes, sometimes glance up at the passing group, curiosity and confusion breaking through into their miserable and gloomy stares before they turn back to their food.

The looks they get when they arrive at the mouth of the alley from the customers are severe enough to make up for sudden dearth of people. One or two even manage a weak, dispassionate warning to “get away from there” as the group disappears into the alley.

The alley itself is of no real importance. Bags of trash lean despondently against buildings, and the hard scrubbed ground itself is littered with cigarette butts and other miscellaneous bits of rubbish. Scraps of plastic skitter across the ground when the wind catches them, and a discarded snack bag crinkles and snaps against the tangle of sickly weeds it’s caught against.

Behind them the somber sounds of a fearful Noodle Alley peter away as they walk deeper into the alley, and before long die away completely, leaving them in a quiet only broken up by their own conversation and the gentle buzz of the city. The silence is heavy with disquiet when it settles in, full of the fear and tension felt by anyone who knows they are entering the bad part of the town, and it’s punctuated by the signs of struggle. A trashcan lays on its side, its meager contents half spilled out beside it, bent and dented. A switchblade, the blade glittering sharp and deadly even in the gloomy light of the alley lays not far from it, it’s tip red with fresh blood.

From up ahead a pained yell echoes and rebounds down the alley, and there’s a snap of wood breaking followed by several fresh shouts, ranging from angry to scared to hurt.

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the_nadeshiko
2010-08-12 01:42 am UTC (link)

Kai took in the alley with wide eyes, and unconsciously moved closer to the team as they went further in. This scenery was completely foreign to the safe and warm spaces he'd inhabited for most of his life, and he didn't know how to process it all at once. His oh-so-attractive habit of biting his bottom lip when he was nervous was on full display here.

He stayed far back from the dog in the fence, and even the people investigating it. No rabies for him, nothankyou. And if it had done all of this, was it something they wanted to get near?

"Did it do all of this?" he said, looking around. "...Maybe it's not a normal dog at all."

Turning slightly, he noticed the broken phone on the ground. Was that Reizo's, or just some unfortunate victim's? Kai couldn't tell the difference, but it wouldn't hurt to point it out.

"Hey, what about that phone? Is it Shirai-san's?" He pointed towards it for anyone who happened to look at him.

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mellow_lellow
2010-08-12 02:05 am UTC (link)

Seiko glanced at the phone, the magazine, but as much as she'd like to be able to decode these things her attention was drawn to the dog. Of course it was drawn to the dog, it was an animal in pain. It wasn't the friendliest looking dog, and she was fairly sure it was probably dangerous, but this was a girl who thought her dog-chasing, one eared cat was an adorable fuzzball. She crouched down, shuffling as close to the dog as she dared, closer than her teammates were to the dog.

"Hey there boy." She didn't reach out, as weakened as it was and as pathetic, she wasn't so blinded by her compassion as to get her hands too close to something with fangs.

"Um that phone, well probably important?" She shrugged, attention still fixed firmly on the dog, animals were always higher on her list of priorities than technology of any kind. "Considering, well everything, even if it isn't Shirai-san's it could be used in there right?"

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2dbeauty
2010-08-13 03:09 am UTC (link)

Once again, Toru moved out of the way when Seiko came near. Sure, she could get close to the dog. If it chose to attack, at least it wouldn't be likely to go for hi- no. This isn't right, even if she's a horrible person. She's still part of the team.

He gave the wounded animal a parting glance through the fence before turning to the rest of the team. Those eyes... it looked so wild and dangerous, even when it was on the ground, bleeding. And familiar, though not in any tangible way. Probably because of all of the anime I've seen with wolves or dogs... there sure are a lot. But this is a hell of a lot more real.

"Let me see. Shirai's in my class, so..." Toru walked over to pick up the phone. It was completely trashed- the bottom half was broken off, so it couldn't even be used. Nonetheless, it didn't look like something of Reizo's. It looked too cheap- and it lacked the skull decals that had made Toru quietly snicker near the back of the party when he'd first noticed them in battle. It wasn't his.

"The phone's somebody else's, guys, and it's not going to be of any use to us, anyway. It's never going to turn on again."

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whenitsleeps
2010-08-16 09:00 pm UTC (link)

The further they got into the alley, the less he felt comfortable about it. "Talk about weird," Isao commented to himself, nudging the odd looking doll... thing. That was certainly different. He had to wonder who in the world would spend the time doing something like that who also spent time in this sort of alley? Then again, maybe it was the street kid's reply to Pottery Barn. If only it were a lamp or at least a suitable throw pillow. Or maybe a penny bank... Hm.

Obviously, he was never one to fret over details that probably just came with it being a hang out for people whom he assumed that he and the others didn't usually associate with. Toru had confirmed that the phone wasn't Reizo's. There were plenty of other odd things around, but as most of the others, his attention was on the other living creature within the area. He leaned over to get a glimpse of the dog the others were looking about before he hopped up on some of the nearby crates to attempt to get a better look from over the fence rather than through it. "There haven't been any rumors of dog fighting around here?"

"Either way, it seems dangerous, so... I'm guessing we should probably go ahead and check it out unless you guys think this stuff is useful." It was a cynical sort of logic to have, but given the usual it only made sense. Whatever seemed most dangerous was usually what they jumped head-first into. Just being in the alley they were in now was proof enough for that. He was willing enough to try and get closer if they didn't have any better ideas. After all, if the dog couldn't stand there was only so much it could do to them fence or no fence.

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some_other_dog
2010-08-17 07:39 am UTC (link)

The wounded dog watched the newcomers, the one closest to it most of all, as warily as any injured and cornered beast might. The furry triangles of its ears were laid back against its skull, and its burnished copper eyes were open, focused primarily on Seiko but jumping to others at the slightest movement. Its tail thumped against the ground, and it stretched out some, laying its head morosely on the ground and tilting its weight to the hip without the knife protruding from it. It lay still after, belly half-exposed and eyes and tail flicking nervously, letting out a sigh that turned into a keening whine midway through.

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ofmanydevices
2010-08-17 04:18 pm UTC (link)

"He's hurt, try not to move him, and don't touch the knife either." Tom inwardly seethed at having been so far away that he'd gotten into the alley after a crowd had formed. He'd had to take the time to work his way through unseen.

When he finally did reach the scene, several of his teammates had already arrived, they'd looked at some of the clues, but missed some of the obvious ones. In all honesty, he thought it would be best to examine the whole scene, to take photos, to work it out, but he looked at the wounded animal, and memories struck him. A small face, cold and wet in the rain. A dog so small it could be stepped on, thinking it still had the strength to fight. Tom knew exactly what his priorities were, and they weren't to the evidence.

He dropped to a knee next to the wounded animal, and opened his messenger bag.

"Pulling the knife out could cause bleeding to get worse. Letting him try to move could shift it, and make the wound deeper. He'll have to be carried. One of you is going to have to keep pressure on the wound around the knife."

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omgboyskissing
2010-08-17 05:25 pm UTC (link)

"I think you're right, senpai." Yoshimi had been watching from the back of the group, hesitant to get involved with all the complexities and responsibilities of a Paradise-related investigation. But coming upon an injured dog was something she could deal with, something that, while upsetting, was comfortingly normal and didn't involve killer angels or deathtrap-filled alternate dimensions or having to face down Shirai Reizo's repressed self, at least as far as she could tell.

"Should I call my vet's office and tell them we'll be bringing the dog in?"

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anthesphoria
2010-08-17 07:55 pm UTC (link)

Kozue had been towards the back of the group, silent throughout most of the walk into the shady parts of town (she was used to something of a different brand of shady, and this was very, very far from her element). Partly, she was silent out of fear, and partly because she kept composing an updated text message to Kiriko, to let her know what was going on, and then deleting pieces because, ultimately, there was nothing to say: it was creepy and there was a dog.

It was only after she scrapped the message about the dog that she stopped tapping on her phone, and actually tuned in to the conversation. They needed to help the dog, and it was injured? Well, why didn't…

Kozue actually opened her mouth and stepped forward before she remembered that even though they were dealing with Shadows and Paradise, they weren't in Paradise. She couldn't heal. She didn't even know how to properly put on anything bigger than a bandaid (which began to demand the question of why her magical personality had the power to heal, really, but that thought only flashed briefly in Kozue's mind before fluttering away, like most such thoughts). She tottered, balanced forward but not sure where to go, before deciding that really, she was as qualified as anyone else, save perhaps Tom The Ever Prepared. "I could put pressure on it? And... Uh, maybe give him something to eat?" She glanced to Yoshi and nodded, "And yeah, that's a really good idea."

She stepped, still cautiously, towards where Tom and the dog were.

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daioujou
2010-08-17 09:31 pm UTC (link)

Kouchisei had gathered that about the situation - the way to treat the dog's knife injury - but had paid no conscious thought to it previously; the reason it was a dog and not Shirai was a compelling one, and the only reason he wasn't paying it more attention.

"What we should do is get back on Shirai," he announced. "This is getting us further away and wasting time. Ishinomori-san, please check the condition of the sim card. If it's useable, we can put it into a new phone and see what's what."

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2dbeauty
2010-08-17 09:39 pm UTC (link)

Having the arm strength of a moray eel and a level of desire to touch the dog on par with that of the average housecat, Toru willingly followed what Kou told him, and popped open the phone. The sim card looked to be intact, so he removed it and stuck it in one of his pockets.

"If it works, maybe we can track down the owner. Or at least what happened back here..." he muttered, justifying the "why" of bothering with the sim card of a phone that obviously wasn't Reizo's. Satisfied with his work, Toru then discarded the broken cell phone with a casual toss. It clacked against the ground surprisingly loudly as he walked back over to where the others were fretting over the dog.

"Anything else I can do to help?" he asked noncommittally, still wary of the wounded animal in his presence.

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the_nadeshiko
2010-08-18 12:35 am UTC (link)

Kai hung back from the action and the conversation, watching everyone else work. He supposed helping the dog was a good idea, and a kind one at that, but he couldn't bring himself to get near it. He had a perfectly lame excuse ready if anyone were to ask - I have no experience with dogs - but his fear was obvious in his stance, in the way he wouldn't look directly at anyone, and would give him away.

So he hid in plain sight, hovering and waiting for someone else to take the lead. If that made him a coward, fine, but at least he was a marginally safe coward.

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lotus_beyond
2010-08-18 12:54 am UTC (link)

Cursing Iburi's transportation system and her unfamiliarity with it all the way, Renju had managed to arrive at the appointed spot several minutes late; given her current run of luck with buses, it was a wonder she'd managed to make it at all.

The eerieness of the surroundings was lost on her; her attention was fixed on the gathering group in the middle of the alley. She was too polite to push her way around this particular group (something she briefly regretted) and too short to see; plan C, therefore, was to ask. Fortunately for her, Kozue was also near the back of the group. "I apologize for my lateness," she said, quietly so as not to disturb the discussion (and so that she could hear it, besides). "Have I missed anything?"

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