Manhunt in Midi: The Search for the Lacrima

Kumiko would be overlooking a grand shrine of sorts with all sorts of knick knacks, candles and art, though of what was a detail lost to the kitsune. She was much older, gauging by how tall she had been now compared to how tall she actually was. This was her that she was seeing through the eyes of, right? Her nails were a magenta color, ending in sharpened points. Something brushed against her back leg, likely her tails that felt longer. In her hands would be a bouquet of white lilies, gently reaching down to set them in certain places among the shrine. Typically in glasses housing a multitude of other flowers. As she seemed to be moving automatically, Kumi suddenly became aware of a second party behind her. The person would watch from behind the first with a wary stance. His hands folded behind his back, pacing around behind the first while they would pay no mind to the second figure's action. Yet her body would not move to look behind him, focusing only on her task at hand.

"And you are certain that there is no mistake? That what you have just told me, told us all is true?" His voice was deep and methodical, the kind that belonged to a man of great wisdom. The first figure continued without hesitation as she tended to the shrine, her hands carefully treating every flower as if it were a life of her own. Her silence was like a fine poison to the second figure, his legs shifting while he turned to face her back. "I place my trust in you, as does everyone else, but this divination cannot be correct. There must be another way…"

The first figure slowly came to pause her movement while a woman's voice, echoing and powerful, would speak to the man. "The elemental harmony of our world wanes and yet you waste your time on petty squabbles between this temple. I come to you with such revelations and am met with contempt at every angle." She slowly turned to face the man, her eyes a brilliant silver color that emanated from behind her hood. Plump lips turned into a scowl while she continued, now granting him her entire attention. "I should have expected nothing less from your kind. Yet unlike your peers, you appear to house no contempt for my message."

The man shrouded in darkness would step closer to the woman, keeping his head bowed while addressing her. "I…cannot say that I understand everything that you've said, but I fear for my brothers. They know of this cataclysm growing, yet remain set in the old ways. I cannot imagine sitting idle while there's still a chance that something can be done." He looked back behind him for just a moment before continuing, Kumi watching as the woman would turn around fully, her hands now tucked in front of her body. "I see…" She would walk with an ethereal grace towards the unknown man, feeling something heavy weight on her ears, slapping the side of her neck with every step. Once in front of the man, her hands ever so gently cradled his chin, a thumb tracing over his cheek. His expression wasn't able to be understood by how fuzzy everything was, but the girl could at least feel his flush skin grow warmer.

"Perhaps I may have a use for you after all." The woman said, her tails swaying with a delighted interest. The cloaked man would stand before her still, unmoving in his stature. "Join me, Himitsu. Together, we will find an answer to avert this disaster. Break free from these fools who seek to take refuge from the inevitable. All I ask for…" The woman smirked, her finger trailing down to his chest, pressing hard against it. "Is the girl."

His stature changed, taking a step back from the woman. "I-I can't. She's…" he hesitated but swallowed air and would speak again, "Surely there is another way?" The woman's arm shot out, grabbing the man by the neck and lifting him into the air with the faintest of effort. "I see it clear as day. You've gotten attached to something disposable. Something that was given to this sect with the clear intention of being disposed of once the time came." She swung him around to the wall, her claws just barely digging into his neck as she took on a teasing tone. "How very human of you. Going against your teachings all for something that can't feel the same to you. Perhaps I should save you the shame of this confession, skip right to the penance." A nail gently dug into the base of his neck, a trickle of blood forming before they were interrupted.

A sudden crash was heard, the woman's eyes darting to the side where she would spot the culprit, standing up a fallen vase. A child no older than five years or so, her hair long and styled into a ponytail that bounced behind her. "Ah, just the girl I was searching for." The woman would walk towards her as the man reached out when the memory would fade, Kumiko returning to reality.