Endless Autumn

At least one of the perks of working for CORPSE was the opportunity to travel.

Prior to his death, his family weren't exactly ones for leaving Japan. Hell, they weren't ones for leaving Kyoto. Leaving on vacation meant closing up shop. Closing up shop meant for several days they were closed to the public. Several days of being closed to the public meant no one was spending money on them, which was absolutely unacceptable in his father's eyes. To him, vacations were simply nothing more than a waste of money. So, Kajiya didn't see much by consequence, besides the occasional school field trip.

But now he was in Europe for the first time. Bulgaria, to be specific. Kajiya wasn't exactly fluent in Bulgarian, in fact the only knowledge of the language he knew was what he had managed to study in the short time he had after being told of the mission by Investigator Karris, one of his supervisors. Nevertheless, it was quite convenient when he found out that most of the hospital staff (at least those that he encountered upon entering) spoke English, his second language, and one that he was pretty fluent in. Except he couldn't really take the time to enjoy the scenery and check out the nearby tourist hotspots, for there was a job to do. A job that was already driving Kajiya mad with nerves. For Investigator Karris's words continued to replay in his head, each repeat of his dull voice sending shivers down the boy's spine.

"Your next test will involve a mission to Bulgaria. Consider it a trial by fire...”

A trial by fire....as if the first trial wasn't bad enough...

Sure, he had been taken under Mr. Kiyoshi's wing in preparation for the initial exam several months prior, and while the former Investigator's weapons training and mental conditioning had worked wonders, Kajiya couldn't help but feel ill prepared. This wasn't some training exercise, or some Spectra-induced drug trip. This was the real deal. Real field work, undercover as Bulgarian police. How could he not feel nervous?

But he had to mask it. Kiyoshi had trained him in mastering his emotions. Or rather, to showcase a lack of them in hostile situations. It was okay to feel nervous, and to feel the rush of emotions hitting you at once in a situation of stress, but it was fatal to let it dominate you, and even worse to let the enemy know you're bogged down mentally. At least he had the good fortune of having two people he knew accompany him. It was more comforting than working with absolute strangers, at least.

Keep control of every situation. Take care of your surroundings. Be aware.

“Uh...I’m sorry to keep you waiting. The Doctor will be out in a moment to speak with you about the-”

“Ana! Stop bothering the officers! Go find the patient files for Sŭr Lorester, bŭrz!”

Kajiya's intense red gaze rose slowly from where he was seated in the lounge room, resting calmly upon the site of Nurse Ana and the "Doctor". Nodding slowly, he moved to rise, his messy, pure white hair, tied into a ponytail shifting ever so slightly as he stood. Usually, the teenager couldn't be seen without his colorful hoodie, or his sketchbook and pen in hand. Yet today, he was without both. Today, he was dressed in black chino pants, black shoes with a white shirt, a black tie which hung neatly from his neck, and a greyish blue trench coat pulled loosely over his body, thin black gloves covering his pale hands.



Bowing his head to Nurse Ana as she scurried off to fulfill the doctor's task, Kajiya stepped forward, offering a gloved hand to shake Natanail's in greeting

"Good afternoon, Doctor. Thank you for agreeing to meet us." Kajiya said, before withdrawing his hand (after the handshake) and returning it into the pocket of his trench coat. As the Investigator and his teammates followed Natanail, Kajiya listened intently to the man, his red eyes shifting every so often as he made sure to position himself slightly behind the doctor, just so he wouldn't see him being observant of the area around him. After all, when dealing with the supernatural...anything could happen.

As they stopped in front of the patient's door, Kajiya nodded slowly upon the doctor's warning regarding not to stress Mr. Lorester. It wouldn't be in his best interest to alarm the man anyway. A dead patient couldn't speak after all.

"We will take great care with Mr. Lorester, I assure you. Thank you, for your assistance." The Banshee Revenant said as he twisted the doorknob and stepped inside, the lighting from the hallway offering a bit of light to illuminate the otherwise dark room, only illuminated otherwise by the small slivers of light that managed to creep past the drawn blinds. Upon seeing him, Kajiya had to do all he could to suppress a smile.

Shit, the doctor's right. He's almost as pale as I am.

As Meilius closed the door behind them, Kajiya nodded his acknowledgement to the blond European, before stepping forward, withdrawing his badge from his right coat pocket, unfurling it as he allowed the man to see the falsified identification.

""Good afternoon, Mr. Lorester. My name is Alexsandar Dimitar, Burgas Police Department. We were concerned about your condition, and wished to check up on you. Is that alright?" He said in a soft tone, standing a respectful distance from the man's bed, observing the man's condition all the while.

One thing was for sure. This was definitely more than just some freak bathtub accident.

Post Count: 1 | Meilius Varkala | Sadbot | Warlock

Once the door had been shut, the room seemed to have lost any semblance of care. The man lying in front of them was trapped. Words, which he struggled to produce, were simple yet painful whispers. A cold, pale beacon in this bleak, deathly room. As if to break the tension a bit, he gave a meger grin to the group.

“Thank you…” He managed to get out. Relief seemed to filled the man’s dull eyes. “I… So much happened… So much keeps happening…” His eyes widened suddenly as he glanced at the clock, which stated 11:43. His sudden change would slowly calm back down to the dreary demeanor he had before. “I want to… I want to tell you everything…” His hand slowly wrapped around his wrist, which was covered in a thick bandage. “I want to make everything clear… I can’t… Every time I…”. Tears began to well up in his eyes. His head would creak slowly to Kajiya, who he seemed to direct all his words to.

“It didn’t…” His hands would tighten around his wrist. “Mary… I don’t want to see Mary anymore… I’m so tired…” His grip would loosen, a trickle of blood seemed to fall down his arm. Two large clots of blood formed on the bandage, around where one could find his vein. “You…” He swallowed. “You can’t let it in… It’s not Mary anymore… It’s just… empty…” More tears fell from his eyes. “It’s not Mary… It’s not Mary…” He repeated to himself.

The rambling would continue for around 4 minutes as he finally seemed to calm himself. “I’ll try…” He said, sniffling. “I’ll try telling you… I can’t say everything, but I’ll try…” He looked to Kajiya again, his eyes bloodshot and red from the tears. “Just don’t let it in…”

Meilius Varkala
Kajiya Hogosha
Warlock

If the doctor hadn't told him he was mentally alert, there was a good chance Kajiya would have held off on this questioning until later. As the door closed, any semblance of life seemed to leave the man, and now he simply looked like a shadow of what he looked like. Was this how the near dead looked when they were so close to...to the end? Did he look like that once upon a time? Before his transformation, of course. Kajiya shook the thought from his mind. This was no time to get lost in his thoughts. He had too much work to do, and his comrades depended on him to not lose himself in the middle of a hospital in Bulgaria. Although if he did just crack and go insane, he figured he was in the perfect place to do so.

Okay, let's not think about going insane.

As the man turned to him and began to speak in that harsh, barely present whisper, Kajiya couldn't help but feel a shiver run down his spine. He had to clamp down on his own control over himself. As a Banshee, he constantly exuded an aura of sorrow and regret, and being in the presence of death didn't help him move to restrain it. He didn't want to push a man who was barely clinging to life over the edge due to a sudden rush of emotion that wasn't his. Kajiya was pretty good at restraining his own aura, and just hoped that he could continue to manage to do so.

Nevertheless, Kajiya listened all the same to the man as he spoke, clinging onto every word as best he could. Mary. He must have meant Mary Lorester, his wife. For what other Mary would there be? Normally, Kajiya would ask just to confirm, but given the man's condition, he wasn't sure that stressing him out further would be the best move to take. After all, the doctor did warn for them not to bring up the man's wife, and Kajiya was never one to poke the sleeping beast.

His gaze drifting to the man's body, Kajiya took note of the blood leakage, and for a moment grew alarmed. If he bled out, what the fuck would they do then? Not only would the doctor be none too pleased, but they would lose their only chance of information.

”Relax, Mr. Lorester. Everything is alright....we are here to help you. My companions and myself are here to ensure your safety, and your recovery. You have little to worry about....so please, relax.“ Kajiya spoke softly moving to pull a chair up to the man's bed so he could sit down.

"We appreciate your willingness to tell us, and we are here to listen. Please, tell us whatever you feel comfortable with telling us. Try to remain calm, and let your body relax. Becoming tense could hurt you."

Easing back in his chair, Kajiya couldn't help but feel unease in the air.

What could Mr. Lorester be so afraid of? Why is Mary suddenly a threat? His words aren't marked with grief, which is as expected after losing someone so dear. He was sure he felt grief, but that wasn't the priority.

Something had happened to his wife. And now he was afraid of her...or whatever had become of her.

Post Count: 2 | Meilius Varkala | Warlock | Sadbot

The dim eyes wilted down to Hal’s side. It was a gaze which looked past Kajiya, the wall behind him, and even further beyond. A slight smile grew across his face. It was a smile of defeat. As if the man’s paranoia and fears had finally conceded to his fate. He lifted up his wrist and held it out for Kajiya to see.

“I’m sorry… So much has happened, so much that I couldn’t understand” He spoke a bit more clearly, as if his voice was finally beginning to return after such a long disuse. “I can’t tell you much… The details are… blocked… It was at night when it came. A small doll of a girl… so kind to us…” Slowly he would begin to unwrap the bandage. Two small dots of red were revealed underneath, still leaking blood as if they had been punctured mere moments ago. The blood came down in a small trickle, nothing too serious.

“If I hadn’t… It took her… Not just her life, but her entire soul… Drained everything until she was a shell… Then it looked at me and smiled. Her blood was everywhere on it, but it still smiled like an innocent, little girl. It said something to me… I can’t say it or even write it…” He returned the bandaged to his wrist and looked up to the ceiling. “Then she came back… She started…” He gripped his wrist again. “I can’t stop her anymore… This hospital is the only safe place I have left… It she gets in then…” His gaze fell back onto Kajiya, then to Meilius and finally onto Warlock. “When she gets in, I will become like her…” A weak chuckle rasped from his lips. “I feel like tonight will be my last night. Don’t let her or it or even I hurt you. Once they get to you, you can’t stop them”

13:00

Meilius Varkala
Kajiya Hogosha
Warlock

The man was talking. That was good. He had feared that both the physical state and the emotional/mental state of the patient would present some difficulties when it came to reliving that night. While he had no way to confirm the veracity of the man's words, he was the best source they had, and anything he could offer was much better than nothing.

Yet, that didn't make Mr. Lorester's words all the more concerning. An innocent young girl who drained the life from what Kajiya could only assume was his wife. As his gaze drifted down to the man's arm, where he revealed the two still bleeding puncture marks, Kajiya couldn't help but bite his lip. Mr. Lorester wasn't even talking about the second incident in which he was found facedown in a tub. This was the first incident, and yet those puncture marks are still bleeding, with no attempt from his body to clot? That within itself was peculiar, but given the nature of the story he was telling, he supposed that it wasn't that hard to believe.

”We will protect you from harm, Mr. Lorester. We are to help you..“ It wasn't a lie, but given Kajiya couldn't even be sure the true nature of the threat they were facing, and given Mr. Lorester's dire condition, Kajiya wasn't exactly sure of his ability to protect the man from what they both saw as the inevitable. The least Kajiya could do was to do as the man had instructed...and ensure nothing like this happened to anyone else.

But, the words, even if hollow, could help. The last thing he needed was for the man to close up due to alarm, or by stripping him of his feeling of safety within this hospital room. Or worse case scenario, stress him to the point of some medical complication. Super aloof Investigator or not, he didn't want to get into an old fashioned brawl with a Bulgarian Doctor.

Kajiya opened his mouth to inquire further when he felt a slight shuffle brush against his coat, prompting the man to turn. Upon seeing Meilius behind him, Kajiya's eyes drifted to the sketchbook, in which he caught side of the half drawn image of a girl first, before catching sight of the words underneath,

"Could you ask what that girl looks like?"

Kajiya smiled slightly to his friend, and nodded before turning back to Mr. Lorester and bowing his head lightly in respect," "Mr. Lorester, we appreciate everything that you're telling us. We will try our best to ensure this..person does not harm you or anyone else ever again. Is it possible that you could provide for me as much detail regarding the appearance of the girl you encountered as possible? This way we could better protect you and others...it is okay if at any point you need a moment's break. Or if you require a drink, or food...we would be happy to get it for you. We want to make this process as comfortable as possible." Kajiya said as a gloved hand reached within an inner pocket of his overcoat...

In which he brought out his sketchbook and pen a moment later.


Okay, listen. There was no way he wasn't bringing it along. After all, he had to do something on the car ride to the hospital. He just swore to himself that he wouldn't get distracted doodling while actually on the job, a promise that he had been successful with thus far. Even as he brought it out now, it wasn't to mind dump his emotions on paper, or rip out half of his drawings in an angered frenzy and debate whether he would ever draw again.

This time, it was to do his best to take the man's description, and sketch out the best possible render he could. He was an artist after all, and while portraits weren't his subject of choice when it came to his recreational works (even when he was "alive"), he was more than capable of doing so.

His lack of muse replaced by a determination to do a good job in this mission, and a desire to truly help this man find peace, Kajiya withdrew a pencil and sat down once more next to the man. This was no time for creative desire or embellishments. This needed to be as accurate as possible.

"I'm ready when you are, Mr. Lorester."

Post Count: 3 | Meilius Varkala | Warlock | Sadbot

There was no reaction from Mister Lorester as Marika both angrily threatened and angrily promised to protect the dishevelled man. Whether it was due to a lack of energy to care, or simply being unable to physically react, Lorester did not make a sound until she had finished her tirade. His sunken, tired eyes fell on the woman with a slightly amused glint to them.

“You seem so sure of yourself, it’s almost encouraging… If I was to be honest, ending my life now would be the easy way out… But it wouldn’t solve anything. The same thing will happen no matter what I do”

He tilted his head back to Kajiya. “You wish to know what it looked like? A shell. An innocent, frail, porcelain shell of a girl. It was wearing a frocked blue dress and had flowing purple hair that dragged across the ground. It was so nice to M-Mary and I, we thought it might of been a lost girl from one of the villages. It called out to us. When we got close to it…”

Mister Lorester’s eyes suddenly widen as his mind wandered back to memories long since repressed. “Those eyes… those eyes… I want to think about her, how it… So much blood and pain, but It didn’t scare me… Not like it’s eyes…” Lorester looked at Kajiya, even managing to lean up slightly from the bed. “I have seen things I was not meant to in those eyes. I did not see life, I did not see death, I saw an absence. A complete emptiness which was insatiably hungry. I knew what it wanted and I could not stop it. I could not move. I could not think. All I could see was those eyes. It latched onto Mary like a parasite and giggled while ending her, but I could not do anything to stop it. I- I-” Lorester fell to his bed holding his arm. After a few difficult breaths, he seemed to return back to his old demeanor.

“It made her like it. And now it is leading her back to me. Like an animal teaching it’s child to feed on it’s own” Lorester slowly curled into the fetal position on his bed. “They’re going to make me like them. I don’t want to hurt people. I want to die, but they won’t let me…" He seemed to be unresponsive at this point, simply muttering to himself incoherently.

14:00

Meilius Varkala
Kajiya Hogosha
Warlock