pslplz | Turned: The Spinoff

"I know you don't. That isn't what this is about. Someone needed to know as a basic safety precaution. Moreover, in not reporting the incident, we lost an opportunity to learn more about who was responsible for his murder."

Mamoru did have a point there. She'd allowed the rest of them to languish with the possibility that Omi had died. Of course she did what she could to track down the vampire that turned him, but maybe if she'd had help, they could've found him by now.

But what was worse, for hunters? To know that their friend was dead? Or had been turned?

She frowned slightly.

"So what do you want me to do about it now?"

Mamoru thought about that question before he answered. The biggest thing he wanted her to do was to learn from it, so that perhaps she would not make a similar mistake should another situation that others needed to know about arise.

That wasn't everything, though. There was still something constructive that could be salvaged from the current situation.

"...Do you remember anything at all about that visit? How he looked, any powers he used, the words he said to you?"

"He used a binding spell of some kind, it immobilized me temporarily. He said he was the lover of a vampire I had vanquished some months before. I suppose he was out for revenge."

Taiyou frowned and tried to remember more, but like before, it was too hazy. As though he'd manipulated her mind to remember only what he wanted her to.

"His specific appearance I can't recall. He must've muddled with that memory to keep himself hidden like the coward that he is."

Mamoru pulled a notepad and pen over from one side of his desk to in front of him, jotting down a couple of notes for future reference. Then he set the pen down and sought out Taiyou's eyes.

"Do you think there's even the slimmest possibility that Tsukiyono-kun asked to be turned."

She recoiled as though Mamoru had slapped her. How could he think such a thing? Omi was no hunter but he was still one of the family. He knew what they were up against.

"No! Absolutely not!"

Mamoru didn't react to Taiyou's outburst. He surmised that she'd missed the true intention of his statement.

"I don't either," he said.

"...then why bring it up at all?" Taiyou tiled her head to the side and looked at him with a furrowed brow. He had some kind of design, or he wouldn't have said it.

"It was a transitional statement."

Partly for confirmation as well, though Mamoru hadn't expected any doubt to come from her. It was an important point to bear in mind. The guild operated on the assumption that all vampires either wanted to become them or were born undead, and it was Mamoru's understanding that the vampire side of their violent equation regulated turnings. What then had happened in Omi's case? Mamoru had a suspicion he was going to be making a call to a certain connection in that world very soon.

"I'm still interested in identifying the one responsible. It troubles me that Tsukiyono-kun remembers the encounter with vivid detail except for certain elements. The fact that you suspect the vampire tampered with your memory when he visited only reinforces that unease."

Edited 2015-11-03 13:42 (UTC)

"Maybe he's not protecting himself from us at all, but from his own kind," Taiyou said. Thinking it through, it made more sense. It was unheard of to turn someone forcibly. The vampire population was carefully regulated, from what all the hunter records indicated. A good survival tactic, considering their need for secrecy.

"Do you think the elders know about this?"

That was certainly possible. Their connection to the vampire world was closer than any other humans, and yet their information remained limited. Vampires were secretive creatures that kept their cards close to their chests. It was anyone's guess how they might respond to an unapproved new turning. They might slaughter the sire, or the childe, or both, or neither.

"That perhaps depends on how benevolent you think they are towards one another. Logically, there must be some incentive the vampire had to block certain memories the two of you had of your encounters with him. The simplest answer to that would be that he didn't want to be caught having made an involuntary turning."

Most likely, he'd been banking on Taiyou's fear for Omi's safety keeping her from exposing him. He'd banked right, too. Mamoru opted not to share that hunch. At this point, it wouldn't accomplish anything except to make Taiyou angry and upset. What was done was done; their focus ought to be on the future, not the past.

"We have a decision to make then, on whether to contact our liaison and inform him of our findings and suspicions. It might help lead us to answers. Or it might endanger him by drawing attention to him." Mamoru considered that in silence, then looked up to meet Taiyou's eyes.

"What do you want me to do?"

Benevolence wasn't a trait Taiyou would usually associate with vampires. Her experience with Omi though, was quickly making her re-think everything. Vampires had rules, she knew this much. How strictly they were enforced was less certain. There was still much that was unknown regarding vampire politics.

Contacting the liaison could be risky. If, as they suspected, this was an unapproved turning, then there was no telling what the vampire leadership would demand. Omi's life could be in danger.

And yet ... was it fair to Omi to be isolated from those who were 'like' him, who could possibly teach him things that humans could not?

She looked pleasantly surprised when Mamoru turned the question to her.

"I'm not sure," she said, her expression reflecting that uncertainty. "As you say, it might endanger him if they don't already know. But we do want answers as well. Perhaps we should ask Omi?"

It pained Mamoru a little that such a basic courtesy as asking Taiyou's input for something that so strongly involved her and her boyfriend seemed to surprise her. He did realize that they didn't always see eye to eye, but surely she didn't think he would steamroll her on something like this? Central as Omi's discovery might be to the guild and its policies, this question was only tangentially related to the guild. It was far more central to Taiyou and to Omi. He didn't have any right deciding this for them.

Consulting Omi himself then sounded like a perfectly fair thing to do. Mamoru nodded to her suggestion.

"I'll leave that conversation to you. Let me know the decision when you have it. Should you decide to seek answers, I'll make contact on your behalf."

"I'll talk to him after we're done here," Taiyou said. She paused for a moment and looked at Mamoru thoughtfully. All things considered, he was being awfully understanding. What seemingly began as a lecture ended up somewhere else instead. Maybe she was too defensive around him. It wasn't without good cause (she believed) but how long did she need to hang on to what had happened?

"I'm um ... I'm sorry." She tucked her hair awkwardly behind her ear. "If I worried you."

Mamoru's expression softened at her apology. He offered a small smile.

"You did-- and it's okay. In the future, please take better care if there's any sign you're in a situation of unusual danger like that... You're an irreplaceable part of our family."

Of his family, but that was a bit too personal to say.

She smiled back at him warmly.

Ultimately, that was what it came down to, wasn't it? She had a brother, and she knew how families were like. They argued, they bickered, they pushed each other away. But in the end, they stuck together because that was what families did.

"Thanks ... I will."

Turned: The Spinoff

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