ghost whisperer

@deadseeing

The same kinshi familiars that Hinoka had sent out to deliver the banquet invitations now carried a different message. 

I’ll get right to the point - I’d like to discuss an alliance. If you’re interested, meet me at Ryuudou Temple tomorrow an hour before midnight. I’ll have no one with me other than my Servant, and you’re free to inspect the temple in the daytime. –Hinoka

She was transparent about her intentions. Tying the message onto the leg of the small bird, she sent the kinshi on its way. 

Hinoka now waited at the entrance of the empty temple. She had a feeling Raine would come. The night air felt crisp and she felt energized despite the late hour. She couldn’t stand still so she paced back and forth. Call it instinct, but she felt Raine was trustworthy. She had been drawn to Raine and her siblings, perhaps because they reminded Hinoka of her own, and since they’d spoken at the banquet, Hinoka had wanted her as an ally.

As a precautionary measure, they had sent a familiar or two to inspect the premises just in case during the day. Her older sister had her reservations, while her Father and elder brother looked forward to meeting with the Hoshido Master. They may become a powerful asset, Raine recalls her Father muse in his study. Young she may, that girl has room for potential despite the sparse training. She calls him chuckle to himself, then smile condescendingly, just don’t get attached though, who knows what may happen?

Miss Hinoka has a family, three other siblings, if Raine can afford she’ll try her hardest to keep Father away from them. 

Laurent accompanied her from a safe distance away, while her elder brother was keeping company to her Father at their base of operations. She has brought Saber, as well, who she requested to stay in spirit form for now. Upon climbing the top step to the Temple, she reaches the entrance and catches her breath. Spotting the red familiar blur, she breathes out a sigh and power walks over.

“Good evening, Miss Hinoka.” The young girl greets when she approaches.

At once rather taken aback by her Master’s vocal irritation, Saber duly bows her head in silent apology: whether the dissent is aimed towards her, or to the more general state of affairs, she naturally perceives the trigger - in either case - to have been her words. “Forgive me – I mistook your sympathies, in part, for APOLOGETICS.” Her head remains bowed for a further moment still, as if again regretting her choice of words, even her choice to speak up in the first place– But she knows, perhaps more than any other of her fellow Servants, that the Church puts in place these rules and regulations for good reason.

When Miss Raine turns the question to her, the Servant’s eyes widen fractionally in surprise, unexpected as her opinion-seeking is: but she barely hesitates in supplying an answer, as though reciting by rote. “It is not appropriate for a tool to pass judgement on what is morally right or WRONG. Whatever their motivations, they have committed the sin of taking life BOTH.”

“A tool...” Raine repeats, cracked lips purse together then draw out in a small frown. Tool or not, their Servants once possessed human lives, some of them did at least. Unlike her Father, she does not like ‘using’ people, if she could afford to do things by herself, for herself, she would but she feels powerless about herself. And yet, her self pity is something she doesn’t want to mope about now. “But, it’s alright; it was a misunderstanding...I’m sorry for.. my tone.”

She hated to admit she was right though, it was still murder. Assassin had done a better job at clean up, from the reports. Given their nature, they may become an obstacle; the Ludowing Master grated at her nerves for his idealism, it reminded her too much of her older brother. The young master keeps her eyes trained on her partner.

“…MASTER,” the gentlest of frowns mars Saber’s doll-like face, and her voice yet remains as unaffected as ever, despite her sincere… Ah – what word is there for this emotion, faint though it is? Not quite disappointment, not even quite a general displeasure. But where neither her countenance nor her voice betray her true sentiment, her words certainly do. 

“I understand your sympathies, but they have still committed MURDER. They must still face CONSEQUENCE.”

Murder smurder, she knows this, but the young Master feels a twinge of annoyance. The people they killed probably had it coming. She almost envied them, because she wasn’t able to do that with her current situation. Father’s web entangled her siblings, quite easily he’d be able to kill them and her mother where ever she was.