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 Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 5:34 pm
~::The Inaba Hilltop::~
(Inaba's Highest Point, Overlooking the Town)
Accessible only by the bus in the Downtown District, the Hilltop above Inaba is the highest point in the town and the best view in town. The majority of the Downtown and Residential Districts re visible from this spot atop the hill, and the gazebo and picnic table there help make it a nice, secluded location to spend time away from the hustle and bustle in town.
Every Monday, Friday, and Saturday there is a day care that brings its kids atop the hill for a short time after school. Looking after the kids is a part-time job that students with high responsibility can take in order to make good money.
Inaba Hilltop
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Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 2:12 pm
Duke Devlin, The King of Games (3-1) (Theme)
The trip had been unusually silent from the Yasogami High School to the Downtown Bus Stop and then to the top of the hilltop overlooking the town; though with Duke's fangirls apparently taking a sabbatical for the day, it went without saying that things were a bit more peaceful than Minori might have been used to around him. Duke himself was unusually silent, though, as the bus rolled around the curves to the top of the hill, and as his fingers folded themselves under his chin [his other hand having idly managed to keep hold of hers as they went], he looked as if he were lost in some sort of deep thought...or completely blank, one of the two. Soon, however, the journey had passed and they were forced to step off the bus into the otherwise empty Hilltop area. Was it conveniently empty or just not a popular destination for the day? A question Minori might have thought to herself...but what stood out were a couple of boxes resting atop the table in the center of the gazebo closest to the view over Inaba. Coming into view of them, Duke glanced over at his blond companion and smiled slightly, motioning with his eyes for her to follow him there.
"Sorry to drag you all the way up here," the gamer spoke up for the first time in a few minutes, leading Minori over to the table where the boxes came into a clearer view. One of them was a small box, no bigger than a large cell phone, and the second was a small box of candies, not wrapped as the other one seemed to be. As the duo came to the table, Duke stood next to the bench and offered Minori a seat first, before taking the one beside her. His elbow rested on the table top and palm under his chin, green eyes focused only on the person in front of him. And by now, even the faint bass that had been trailing him was gone...an impossibly rare, single moment of silence in the chaotic presence of Duke Devlin. "But when I thought about somewhere like...special that I could take you for your birthday, it was the only place that came to mind."
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Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 6:56 pm
Minori Koroko  Not once did the girl question where they were going, nor did she worry. Her thoughts were somewhere else now, not paying attention to much, but the warm hand on hers, the journey on the bus passing relatively fast. She had said nothing, and neither had he, but the silence bothered her not. Though, his distracted expression, almost as if he was in deep thought, caught her attention, and the blond was almost about to question about it when the bus slowed its pace, reaching what was apparently their stop. That's when she finally recognized the place as the silent and completely empty Hilltop area. Minori tilted her head slightly, a bit of confusion on her eyes. Weird...there was at least someone in here most of the time. It was a nice spot to have a picnic, or just a place where you could bring yourself alone with your thoughts. The view was fantastic, and there was something about it that brought a peaceful feeling. The blond had been here so many times before, some times with friends, others alone...but, it never stopped to impress her.
A warm smile graced her features, her green gaze dancing around the place; being here would have been enough for her. Only when her eyes landed on the table with two boxes did she let out a small gasp, completely surprised by this. He had obviously taken some time to plan all of this, and the fact he had spent time doing so brought her a lightheaded feeling...but not in a bad way. She returned her gaze to him still amazed, and of course grateful, following her companion to the table. She was completely out of words as she sat down on the bench. The blond looked at the town below them, listening him talk. She smiled once more, resting her hand on the table, returning her eyes to him. "You thought well. This place is lovely." the blond answered honestly. "Thank you." Then a question popped on her mind. She didn't remember ever mentioning her date of birth to him before, not that she talk about it frequently. She wasn't like those girls who loved mentioning their birthdays just so they could be the center of attention and receive greetings and presents from people they haven't ever talk to. That explained her hesitation back at the school entrance with Hikaru. But, that was out of topic for now. "How did you know it was my birthday today, though? I don't remember ever mentioning it." the girl asked in a light tone, a tint of mirth on it, maybe even challenging.
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Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 9:02 pm
Duke Devlin, The King of Games (3-1) (Theme)
Being somewhat new to town, Duke didn't really know how local people thought about this place when he had chosen it. The view was undeniably beautiful and the small gazebo provided a great atmosphere. He couldn't have imagined a better place to take someone to celebrate alone no matter how hard he thought about the town...and if he was wrong, well, it was too late to worry about it now. If he had doubts, though, Minori's smile was enough to assuage them. His own lips curled up in a satisfied, confident expression as he nodded to her thanks and listened to her question as to how he had known it was her birthday. Duke resisted the urge to laugh at the irony. "I overheard one of the fangirls in school mentioning it," he answered honestly and with a rather amused smirk, and though he would have liked to have a much more theatrical or interesting response, there was something novel about overhearing the birthday of the one person the fangirls probably didn't want him around from the fangirls themselves...and then using that knowledge to ditch them for a while to take Minori out. Sweet irony, though...he thought as much as he glanced towards the horizon, catching sight of the Junes building almost instantly as the one large tower on the horizon.
Turning back to his companion, he tried to remember what it was that he was going to say once they made it up here, but for once, Duke found that it was a little hard to be his usual, smooth self. Maybe it was the absence of the music that always seemed to follow him or that he was better in front of a crowd than he was with one, much more important person...whatever it was, he got over it quick and decided to just go with the flow. "So like...I figured that this place probably wasn't all that special since you've lived here forever," he started, keeping her one hand loose inside of his own tanned fingers, "but to me, it's totally awesome." His smile was honest as he took another glance towards the horizon...then back to his blond companion and the two boxes on the table in front of him. Nodding towards the smaller of the two, he motioned for her to open it with a barely-concealed smirk growing on the corner of his lips. "In fact, I think the only sight more beautiful than this one," he began in his silky, confident, Californian accent, waiting for her to see the gift, "might be you."
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Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 2:48 pm
Minori Koroko "Oh?" The blond perked her head up, tilting it a little to the side, golden curls falling gently on her shoulder. She blinked, obviously surprised by the answer. Of all he could had said, his answer was the only one she hadn't been expecting. The fangirls...The very ones who seemed to send poisonous daggers with their eyes her way if she even dared to talk to the one person they faithfully followed around day and night...Those fangirls? "Well, then," Minori began, a little smirk curving on her lips. "I'll have to thank them for that." Because, if those girls hadn't been gossiping (or whatever they were planning) she wouldn't be here with him. The girl chuckled, still hard to believe the little chances and irony of those events happening.
Her light chuckle blew away with the warm breeze, leaving behind a brief silence before her companion started talking once again. Her eyes returned to his, a smile and a soft shake of her head reassuring him that wasn't the case. "It is," she answered simply, turning her gaze to the horizon, at the Inaba below..."and, you see...even if I've been here before, this time is different." the blond trailed off, returning her gaze to her dark haired companion, noticing his nod towards the little box, before shifting her eyes to the table (trying to find something she could focus on while suppressing the light pink color on her cheeks). What did she want to say anyway? That she had never been with a guy here before? That she liked being in here with him?... S-she didn't know. Her green eyes landed on the smaller box, and returning a little nod, her hand slipped slowly from his, almost as if reluctant of leaving the comfort of his touch. She began unwrapping the present with great care, and even if her eyes were on the box, she was still paying attention when he spoke up once more. The girl had been expecting, in all honesty, the name of some other place...his last words making her to jolt her gaze away from the box and back to him, not completely sure she had heard correctly; that didn't stop the furious blush on her cheeks, and the little nervous laugh after a short pause. She felt silly, completely off guard seeing her own reaction...and as an automatic mechanism of defense, she shifted her attention back to the now unwrapped box, opening it.
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Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 3:24 pm
Duke Devlin, The King of Games (3-1) (Theme)
Thanking the fangirls, huh? That was a sentence that neither Duke nor Minori probably expected her to ever say, but given what their gossip had resulted in, it was more than warranted to show them a little appreciation. Besides that, Duke was used to thanking them for all sorts of good reasons, the least of which not being their continued support of his company and products which helped him to the success that he was able to enjoy as the face of Devlin Gaming. Their loyalty and honest devotion was why he never minded their presence in the first place; he might even have to apologize to the ones who could be searching for him right now when they met back up. Those thoughts, however, were far from his mind right now. Minori's response to his compliment had been about...50% expected, while the other 50% was an unusual bit of apprehension felt by the smooth operating gamer, who had been uncharacteristically unsure as to whether or not she would be offended by what he said...or happy. Question's answer well in-hand now, his smirk grew a little warmer as he watched the box open in her hands, finally revealing a hanging dice earring that matched his own, for her opposite ear. Despite its look, though, it was worth quite a bit of money...the material of the dice being much more valuable than it appeared.
That apprehension he wasn't used to built up again as he wondered whether or not she would appreciate the gift...he hadn't known what to get her [since he hadn't had a chance to ask what sort of things she liked], but when he thought about it, he wanted to make sure that whatever he gave her reflected how important the gift was to him. He came to the town of Inaba on a business trip at a friend's request...to do work, to fight even...but meeting Minori and making a friend his age, a girl who wasn't completely insane when they saw him, it gave him a much better reason to be here in this small town. And the dice...well, it meant everything to him. Games were his life, and DDM was his greatest success. He wore the dice earring because they were a part of him...and now, so was she...which was why, in the end, he had decided on the matching dice. "I hope you like it," Duke told her honestly, "it's is one of a unique pair...worth quite a lot of money, if you decide you don't want it. But...it'd be rad if you did..." He tapped the dice hanging from his left ear meaningfully, pointing out that the other of the pair was obviously his own. Of course, he wouldn't be offended if she didn't want to go around wearing it, and if she decided to sell it, he wasn't lying when he said she could make a boatload of money from it. Whatever she did wouldn't bother him...as long as she didn't reject it. There was...meaning in this gift. Meaning in bringing her here, just the two of them. Meaning in the warm but casual-looking way that he watched her, wondering what her response might be.
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Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 7:10 pm
Minori Koroko There, delicatedly inside of the small box rested a pendant, a pendant just like his. She was speechless once again... He would never stop to surprise her, would he? The corners of her lips curved into a small smile as she passed a slender finger through it gently. The design was simple, but she didn't need to look at it twice to know it was valuable...both economically and sentimentally. The meaning was there; meaning she well understood. Dice reflected him, his love for his game company...everything that he was. And now, a small part of it all was hers and hers alone. "I..." she began, before closing her mouth once again, trying to form the words she wanted to say. A simple thanks wouldn't do. "This is..." she tried again, without success. She scowled at herself inwardly for her lack of words. Well, if words wouldn't come out...
The girl shifted on her seat, moving to a more comfortable position before moving slightly forward, her arms curling around him in a brief hug. "I love it. Thanks." she finally said, finding her words once more ...Well, apparently, just a simple thanks would do. A bright smile graced her lips as she moved back, returning her green gaze to the box, picking up the earring with great care, almost as if afraid of shattering it. The blond took it to her earlobe, putting it on. She moved some blond curls behind her ear, for them not to block the view of her new pendant. "Well," she girl asked, turning to look at him, the glow on her eyes and bright smile proof that she was honest about her answer, and that she was happy, "how do I look?"
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Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 11:51 am
Caleb Itō
▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀
 Caleb sat quietly at the highest point in Inaba. He smiled and watched out into the town. It seemed so quiet from up here, not just the town...everything there was nothing so peaceful he had seen in his life. Caleb reached into his coat pocket and smiled as his fingers ran across a familiar surface. The cool metal binding of his personal bible rested against his hand right where it always was when he reached into his jacket pocket. He revealed the bible from his jacket and opened it with a holy respect for the book and what it held inside. His fingers ran over the gilded pages as he read the pages and scripture he had already read, and re-read the passages too many times to count but still took satisfaction in reading the book.
For a moment Caleb looked up and frowned. He realized he had forgotten something and pulled up his sleeve with a smile. Flipping open his COMP a finger went to the well worn button. Pressing the button he summoned out Ilos. Ilos' wings fluttered as the little angel sat next to Caleb and they began to read the scriptures together. As they read the two smiled almost in perfect synchronization. Caleb spoke up first. "Now let us pray." He almost commanded as he closed his eyes and the angel did the same. "Our lord, whoart in heaven. Hallowed be thy name..." The prayer continued simply and when the prayer was over Caleb nodded to himself and returned Ilos to his COMP station home. "Amen"
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Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 3:38 pm
Nanako Dojima
With all that was going on in town and everything Soji had been doing lately, it was hard for him to keep his eyes on Nanako at all times; she was a very perceptive young girl who understood the strain on her 'Big Bro', which is why lately she had been spending a lot of time with a friend of hers from school whose father worked with Dojima at the police station. It was safe with him, generally, much better than being home alone...and that was where she was now, playing with her friend atop the Hill with the watchful eyes of her father's colleague making sure that the two didn't get into too much trouble. "Mai! Pass me the ball!" she smiled as she raised her hands, calling for the large beach ball that she and her friend had been playing with for the last twenty minutes or so. Laughing, her friend did that but missed overhead, forcing Nanako to run behind the pavilion to grab it. It was there, as she was reaching down to grab the ball, that she noticed a small pink ribbon tied around her arm. "W-wow! This is so cool!" she beamed, touching the edge of the ribbon with a delighted smile.
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Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 3:54 pm
Kai "Geirin" Kuzunoha
Kai wasn't sure where people gathered, but the Hilltop above Inaba happened to be a good place at certain times he heard as couples and classes came here, and although it was already evening something would have caused him to shrug if they asked why he chose this place in particular. Honestly he was going on chance of naivety above numbers, and the people that seemed prone to this area happened to be of the type that could be influenced in some manner, as long as he didn't meet any adrenaline juiced teenagers looking for a fight. When he scanned the area someone Kai recognized came up first, the niece of the person Raidou seemed so infatuated with, and when he saw her he knew what he had to do. Kai walked up to the pavilion and gave a wave when he thought they noticed him, though it seemed strange to him considering his usual actions. "Uh, hey. You're Seta's cousin aren't you? It's a bit late out, isn't it?" Kai asked the two playing, trying to act normal. Well, he still sounded gruff and he always looked like a delinquent, but if he could he wasn't trying to act threatening at least, and he hoped mentioning her beloved cousin would mean something to the girl.
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Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 4:01 pm
Nanako Dojima
As she had been admiring her ribbon, a man with dual-toned hair made his way up to them and offered a wave; Nanako was wary of strangers after the incident with Namatame [which she hardly remembered but had been told enough to learn a lesson from] so she only waved back slightly, glancing over towards her friend and the friend's father before looking back at Kai. The father was already watching Kai, a glare boring into his head from a distance as if to ensure he didn't do anything funny. Meanwhile the friend was making her way over to Nanako slowly, picking a few flowers along the way. "Yeah, I am," she answered his question hesitantly, rubbing at the ribbon on her arm idly, "and I'm 'llowed to be out this late as long as I'm with Mai n her dad." She didn't know why the guy was approaching her, but she was at least a little nervous about it. Still, he wasn't acting mean...but he had a look about him that chilled her a little. And that definitely wasn't good.
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Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 4:12 pm
Kai "Geirin" Kuzunoha
"I see." Kai said, taking note of the dad's increasingly threatening glares, something that made absolute sense. Were Kai not after the ribbon Nanako had obtained, Kai wouldn't even be here talking to this group, and he sure as hell would have left the man with a black eye for looking at him wrong if he kept it up. Instead Kai had to e persuasive, one of the key techniques of a Kuzunoha, so pulling out his badge he showed the man the Detective ID passively, finding himself another area to bring up in relation to the girl. "That's good, lots of scary things have been happening around here lately. I'm a detective, like that Naoto Shirogane you might have met before. That's why I know the two of them, and from Seta's description I thought you looked like the cousin he's always talking about. What's your name, Nanako was it? I'm Detective Kuzunoha. You can call me Kai." He said, knowing the name had probably reached the dad before. If nothing else, it might help assuage his position as a punk out at night. Or, it might reinforce it, depending how you looked at it. Either way the name was one that was famous around Japan, and if not there was the outside possibility Nanako would know Raidou, though that was an association he wasn't sure he wanted to make yet.
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Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 4:20 pm
Nanako Dojima
Suspicions still remained after the man with the dual-toned hair flashed a badge, if only because it wasn't a local badge to the Inaba Police Department. Nanako certainly didn't recognize it to be like her father's, but the man seemed to remember having seen it faintly, once before. The Capital, maybe? Or was it somewhere out in the boondocks, near Tsukigata? But though he didn't recognize the badge, he certainly recognized the name Kuzunoha; he didn't let up his glare, though, if only because he was suspicious on principle of someone who claimed to be able to interact with and solve the supernatural. Though with all that had been happening around here, of late, it was hard to dispute the legitimacy of that world anymore. "You...know Big Bro? A-and the Detective Prince? That's so cool..." Nanako felt herself get a bit excited when Kai started throwing out names that she recognized so well, but she tempered her attitude a bit in a way that most children couldn't. She still didn't really know Kai, but she could at least talk to him for now with Mai's dad watching over them. "Um...Mr. Kai..." she spoke up again after a minute, smiling politely as she did, "so um...why are you here?" A prudent question...he still hadn't stated his business with her, which was usually one of the first things that a police officer did. This was probably an important question to the little girl and Kai's reason for being here, so it would be an interesting test to see how good he was.
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Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 4:38 pm
Kai "Geirin" Kuzunoha
"I was looking for a ribbon, for my-" Kai avoided glancing around, but he needed to put the ribbon into the subject, and there had to be something. Something a little girl would believe, something that hid his apathy and made him more approachable. Like family. Like a disease. Like family with a disease, and with that he found himself continuing the sentence fluidly, no hint nor trace of thought shown for the girl to pick up on. "-daughter who has cancer. To be honest, you can probably tell I look like a delinquent, huh? So when I was busy living to the fullest, I met her mother. However, she passed away due to the disease and I'm still so young, but I didn't want to lose my only family so I started working as a detective. To be honest, it was your cousin Souji who helped me realize what was important, and it was Naoto that taught me how to work hard to care for her. And now I found out that I might not be able to see her again, and I-I-" Kai began to stutter, all of this said in a casual tone while he kept his voice down, the father probably knowing how to intervene if he heard ANY of this. Kai found himself sitting down near the pavilion, as if he were being choked up by the story, while at the same time trying not to undervalue any emphasis to the story in voice, appearance, or otherwise. "-I'm sorry it's just, I don't want to lose her, but all she says is 'Don't worry, I want another ribbon for my birthday!', but I...I can't do anything. And the last ribbon she had came with the teddy bear her mother gave us before we were robbed, only to be left in our own house when the fire burned down what little we had left. I want my homeless, cancerous, motherless daughter to have a ribbon for her last birthday, but I can't find one anywhere." Kai said, looking up to the sky with a trickle of tears in his eyes. Was he really so bad at lying, he thought as the pain of such terrible acting caused the spark of salty water. Of course to Nanako, it was probably just the icing on the cake.
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Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 4:47 pm
Nanako Dojima
With the cop and his daughter starting to calm down, Nanako figured that it was all right to talk to the man a little more...but listening to his story turned out to be much more than she had bargained for. He was friends with Big Bro and Naoto, a cop like her dad and Ms. Raidou, and then...he had a daughter?! A daughter with cancer...thinking about it was enough to make the poor little girl's heart seize up inside of her chest. The guy didn't look like he was older than her brother, but he already had a daughter [who could talk], a dead wife...and that was the icing on the cake, tears not even necessary. Nanako knew firsthand how tough it was to be a daughter to a single father whose wife had passed away. Thinking about how hard it had been not just for her, but for her dad was enough to nearly bring a tear to the little girl's eye. But Nanako was strong, and she had to be. If Kai's daughter wanted a ribbon before she died from cancer then she was going to get one! "Here you go," she smiled kindly as she unwrapped the ribbon from her arm and held it out to him, "I'm sorry about your wife, Mr. Kai...I hope your daughter gets better, okay?" Quote: Nanako has given Kai her ribbon
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