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[Log] [Ongoing]

When; May 3 || Saturday || late into the evening ♥
Rating; PG
Characters;

scienceinacan || Watari Yutaka &

sciencedaughter || Kurotsuchi Nemu & anyone else interested, perhaps? Though, ask before jumping in :3
Summary; Watari Yutaka finds himself in a bit of a predicament after getting hopelessly carried away by shiny things, and then getting lost~

Log;

At first, there was just an odd feeling that made the hairs on his back stand just a little. Watari Yutaka, shinigami of the Kinki Sector and scientist extraordinaire, had brushed it off as a side effect of several factors all rooting from the simple fact that the Kurosaki house was very, very, old. However, when several more minutes of simple walking yielded nothing more but more hallways and an increasingly disturbing, pregnant silence, even 003 began to hoot in confusion, just to alarm her master.

"You think it's odd too, hmm?" Watari said as he came to a halt. He turned to 003 who was busy flapping her small wings just above his left shoulder, and briefly placed a hand on her small head to soothe her a bit. He offered his friend a cool and confident smile and then reassured her, "I'm sure we just got lost—Whew this house is a lot bigger than I thought it would be! Should've printed out the floor plans or something before wandering around…"

He stretched his arms above him and then pushed the glasses perched on his nose for good measure. It was in the middle of doing the latter that he realized there was something ahead of them. Squinting some made it easier to identify the 'thing' in the dimly lit hallway and it looked like a door.

There was something peculiar about the door though; for one, it certainly clashed with the hallway's Japanese decorum, what with being a western door instead of being a traditional shoji.

The scientist gave his owl companion a look and then shrugged. The Kurosaki household was just a wealth of peculiarities, eh? He thought to himself. Whatever was behind that door certainly held his unwavering attention and curiosity now! Clearly, Tatsumi had missed this part, or the money-obsessed secretary would have said something about it. (Watari thought he'd probably say it implied some kind of hidden financial problems that lead to installing a door instead of the less-sturdy shoji--)

"Is it the answer to this case? I wonder?" He smirked to himself as he strolled towards the lone door. He reached out for the doorknob, and when his fingers came into contact with the cool metal, it was as if the odd feeling instantly grew twofold. There was also an strange, rhythmic sound at the back of his mind, but it was much too vague for him to properly, and confidently, identify without outrightly guessing.

003 seemed to react more harshly than he did, and she flew into the safety of his coat, crawling into one of its inside pockets with a cautionary hoot or two for the scientist. Watari laughed a little. "Don't worry, don't worry, 003! We'll be alright~"

Carefully, he twisted the knob and was met by…

An empty room that was too dark for his tastes.

"Hmm," he mumbled and then looked down. 003 had peeked out from his coat curiously. "Were you expecting a monster to suddenly pop right up, hmm, 003?" He laughed. "Well, an empty room is an empty room! But maybe there's something else, ne? Let's continue on, my partner!"

003 hooted helplessly and crawled back into the pocket she had made a shelter off. Watari, meanwhile, checked the pockets of his coat for a anything to help with the darkness. He didn't like the idea of stumbling into bed-ridden occupants very much, even though he was sure this couldn't possibly the mistress' room.

"Couldn't have gotten here easily otherwise…" he reasoned to himself. Without a doubt, he would have encountered one of the servants of the house, even Nagare himself, if he'd gotten close to Rui's quarters. And then, there was the fact that he wasn't that bad at directions!

"Mm… too quiet—ah, no! I think I left my special little flashlight back in the lab~ What to do, what to do~"

His fears were realized when his feet stumbled against something, and he fell forward, face first into the ground.

"Aaaghhhh—" he yelped and was barely able to use his hands to keep himself from completely hitting the floor. "Stupid—Ah! I didn't step on someone else this time, did I?"

003 was hooting, but then, Watari realized his owl companion was no longer inside his coat, but flying away, towards something. She stood out in the dark and was easy to follow with his eyes because of her golden feathers.

Dusting whatever dirt had attached itself onto his coat and leather pants – really, he didn't need to see the dirt, or if there was anything that got caught in his clothes in the first place, he just dusted it off out of habit – Watari stood from the ground, curious about what had caused him to stumble, but moreso for what 003 found more interesting than him.

"What is it 003?" He followed the small owl, and as he came closer to her, he began to make out another door in the wall. It wasn't the wall he'd entered the room with either; this one was definitely a shoji.

"Ooh…" And in response, 003 hooted as if in confirmation to him and then flew back to his side before perching on his right shoulder.

"That's my girl~ Couldn't have spotted that without your special assistance! Now, let's see… open—" Gingerly, he felt the wall for the shoji handle and then pulled it open. "—sesame…"

The bright light that welcomed him as the shoji slid open was completely unexpected. He squinted and instinctively lifted an arm to shield his eyes, but when the light faded, he realized there were no particularly bright lights in front of him, and that it wasn't even daytime.

Though—

His mouth opened in surprise and he tilted his head. There, in front of 003 and him, was an unmistakably familiar building and establishment; the infamous Kou Kaku Rou of one Miibu Oriya.

The surrounding buildings were surely not quite as he remembered them – and he was rather familiar with the sights of Kyoto being the one in charge of watching over the sector the city fell into – but, yup, that was definitely the building. It was that or this thing in front of him was a very good replica, or hologram.

That made him stop and curse a bit under his breath. "—D-did my program malfunction?!"

003 hooted, You think?

He shook his head. First things first! Investigate! Gather information! After that, then he would be able to conclude something about this!

In his head, he could already hear Tatsumi's lecturing, and terribly annoyed voice! He could just see the shadows swirling menacingly at the secretary-of-hell's feet too!

"Watari-san, I hope you have a very good explanation for this."

He laughed nervously to himself and shook his head. Yes, yes, he told himself, investigate first! He'd worry about the consequences, likely Tatsumi-induced, later.

Looking around, and realizing that there weren't anyone around, he made the conscious effort to switch into spirit form.

"Maybe we ought to start with the roof—I mean, maybe there's a crack in the hologram! Then we can study the insides…"

003 hooted.

"No no! No peeping! But… if it happens accidentally! Then it can't be helped~~"

With a final smirk directed towards his owl companion, Watari flew up to get a better vantage point of the Kokarou. 003 followed her master's actions faithfully, making sure to fly as closely as possible to the shinigami.

And when Watari had thoroughly satisfied his curiosity and come to the troubling conclusion that this really was Kou Kaku Rou, one way or another, he came to land in front of the establishment, still in spirit form, and still very much confused.

"Hmm…" he muttered as he tapped a finger on his lips in thought. That was then that he realized that he had definitely completely forgotten about the case they had been sent to solve, and that with this mystery becoming inconclusive, his multi-tasking mind was eager to get back to the other problem.

However, he realized that he couldn't remember which building he'd come out from! And none of them looked vaguely like the ancient Kurosaki house…

"Oh, I think we're in some trouble now, 003…"

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Kurotsuchi Nemu had not left her apartment that day intending for anything to happen. Of course, she did not often leave her apartment intending for anything to happen at all, but it was a day she was most sure that nothing would happen. Probably. Most likely. She was reasonably certain.

Errands, it was something domestic, but necessary. A few groceries, in a plain paper bag, paper, batteries. Mundane things, but once again, necessary things. In fact, she was so absorbed in these mundane things, and catching a pear before it rolled out of the top of the bag, that it took her an entire five seconds to recognize a spirit signature with which she was familiar.

Her head snapped up, and eyes darted. The shinigami was not alarmed, because this someone was someone she could have said she had a friendship with, if she felt comfortable using the word "friend".

The clicking of her heels was the only sound, however, as she traced the spiritual energy, hesistant to call it reiatsu when it wasn't quite of her world.

"... Watari-san?" It was spoken softly, but clearly, upon reaching the destination, eyes up, delicate hands folded over the bag.

She had not expected to see this person again.

The long-haired blond scientist turned his head to the face whoever it was that had called his name, instinctively really, and when he made a little "Huh?" sound, 003 echoed him with a small hoot.

It took a few seconds before it hit him that he was sure he was still in spirit form. He blinked at the strangely-dressed (It looked like cosplay, really...) woman, who was in turn staring right at him, and then began consciously looking himself over.

"Did I accidentally-- hey, 003--" Watari muttered as he checked himself to see if he was still in spirit form, and indeed he was. "Oh, I am- b- so, that means she can see us, 003?"

Finally, the blond scientist turned to the woman again, beaming brightly as if nothing was wrong. Deciding it was possible the woman was either oblivious to him being in spirit form, or very knowing of it, and therefore asking about whether the woman could see him or not would certainly be redundant, Watari asked the next question on his mind: "Yes...? You know, er-- do I remind you of someone?"

For one, she looked far too young to be someone he knew from before, when he was still alive.

She blinked, slowly, dark, guarded eyes. If he acted like that, she could assume several things, but the most likely was that, upon returning, his memories had reset. This was the most likely, and what she would assume, for now.

"... You are Watari Yutaka, are you not?" Her voice remained level, near emotionless to those who didn't know her better, and couldn't detect the subtle warmth to it.

"Shinigami?" She made sure to lower her voice for that, knowing that last time he had made some effort to keep that fact concealed. Nemu had not, however, figured out if she felt somewhat lonely, that he did not remember her.

The quiet mention of the word 'shinigami' naturally surprised Watari, but he was able to mask this expression in an instant as a result of years of experience. He eased into an easy smile and then discreetly slipped back into his physical form, confident that there were no others nearby to witness this state change.

"Well, you've got the name right are you psychic?-- but it would be too harsh to say I'm the harbinger of death ~" Watari made sure to beam as he declared, "I'm just a passing doctor~ Wait, come to think of it-- if you know my name then this must be still the X prefecture* and... and..."

He certainly didn't exactly believe where his own train of thought was going, but it wouldn't hurt to try? This place wasn't quite Kyoto, that he was sure of now, even if it did have Kou Kaku Rou somewhere in it, but maybe this was still somewhere around the Kurosaki House? Ask directions, a part of him demanded.

"Hmm... can you perhaps point me to the direction of the Kurosaki House? See... I'm a doctor under their employ~ And- and... I think... I got lost after sight-seeing!" 003 hooted eagerly as if her hooting was a sign of her master's honesty. He hoped it was working! Where was Tatsumi when you needed the shadow master's steadfast look to convince people?

[ooc; * Let's pretend X prefecture is wherever that Kurosaki household is... err... D: Because I can't remember Japanese prefectures DX]

If he chose to once again hide his identity as a shinigami, for whatever reasons, she was not the sort of person to press. She merely blinked again, slow, even, and adjusted the groceries in her arms.

Where some people would be upset by not being remembered, she had no right to such things. She had no right to such emotions, no matter how often she slipped.

"This is the City." Nemu murmured softly. "I'm afraid it is not your home world, and I am afraid there is no easy way back. I realize this all must be very startled for you."

Watari stared, blinked, and then gave 003 beside him a look before turning again to the young woman. It seemed like a very well executed joke, but the seriousness in the woman's voice somewhat made him have second thoughts.

He was going to speak, but found that he could only really blink again for a moment or two. When he did manage to speak again, it was a simple word, "Really?"

And then, the gears on his head was moving again. Did he somehow screw up somewhere in the program lines when he created that very real hologram of his three-story laboratory and squeezed it into the Kurosaki household's designated guest room for them? He hoped not... because that would mean Tatsumi was going to be very, very, very angry.

But then again! His calculations should have been perfect, and the program itself seamless as it produced a perfectly safe and usable holographic environment!

She could only blink once more.

"Really."

Nemu repeated solemnly. It was no surprise, really, that one would react like this. Not many people dealt in the possibilities of different worlds, and even those who did not often find themselves trapped in one.

"There are guides I could give you, if you wished."

For she always carried a soft copy, just in case.

Watari decided one of those guides would be very helpful indeed! Of course, if there were guides then this 'City' should have been around a while... Was there an anomaly in the time-space continuum? He thought to himself. It made him wish he'd spent a bit more time studying on those theories when he had a chance, and definitely before this. Though, a part of him was terribly excited at the prospect of having accidentally created a world. Well, it was a possibility until proven otherwise, wasn't it?

"I'd like one of those," Watari said.

"Of course."

Nemu moved to set down her bag of groceries, moving to the white sash around her waist, out of which she pulled a small device, like a pda, holding it out to him, features delicately schooled.

"If you would like to access it here?"

The scientist's eyes had a sparkle in them as he eyed the small device. And here, he was thinking of something written on paper. Hmm, that meant there was some serious stuff going on!

"Sure-- wait, access?" In a voice a bit too excited - well, here was a chance to dabble with something that would surely yield to something! - he amended his statement. "Sure! Let's see what this is all about, 003~"

The small owl hooted and then circled her master's head once. "Oh! I almost forgot... you know my name, then how about I get the name of the lovely and very helpful lady in front of me~ ♥?"

Nemu did not take flattery very well. She ignored that part, trusting he could handle the relatively simple technology of a network device to bring up the guide.

"I am Kurotsuchi Nemu. Vice captain of the 12th division of the shinigami Goteo 13."

Watari was sorely tempted to play along and plainly state his position in the Shokan Division in response, but managed to, just barely, suppress that urge. Non-chalantly, and Watari knew he had to sound far from being too interested, "Shinigami, huh?"

003 was hooting a bit. You're having fun~ was pretty much her message to her master.

"Well, anyway, Nemu-chan~ It's nice to meet you~ ! ♥ You can call me Watari-kun~ Or Yuta~ Or, well, whatever really~"

"We have met before." Nemu murmured, gesturing to the device she'd offered Watari.

"You will read that people can come here and then return, and have no knowledge of their previous stays. We met." She did not expect anything, however, but she felt morally obligated to say it.

We met? Well, Watari thought, if there was any truth to that, the happy little device Nemu-chan was offering was bound to show it to him.

"So, if I've been here, there's bound to be some residue information of my previous self, ne?" he said quietly, more to himself and 003, when the device in his hands. He couldn't possibly do everything he wanted with it right now - that would require dismantling and he didn't really think Nemu would appreciate him tinkering with her things, well, and it wasn't that important - but he was sure going to get some information out of it!

At first, he read the guide quickly - well, more like skimmed through it - and then, after that, he began searching for any trace of him. Knowing himself, he'd have left something for him to find... well, if he'd been like here!

Searching the network, well, and maybe doing a thing or two illegal here and there (though really, what was illegal in here?) with Nemu-chan's device yielded something indeed after just a scant several minutes.

He muttered the username out loud with some amusement and was about to start playing with it when he realized that a.) the device wasn't his b.) there was Nemu-chan, waiting with her groceries and c.) He really should be getting on another computer...

With a smile, Watari then returned the device. He'll sort all of this out in his head later, for now-- "Thank you~ ♥ 003 thanks you too -- and uh, well, in gratitude, how about I help you with your groceries?"

Nemu waited patiently, hands folded on her grocery bag. She knew it could be hard to understand, but knowing Watari, he would handle it much better than, say, a newcomer their very first time, or a human unused to the supernatural alltogether.

She watched his face, reading what cues he gave, and surmised a few things she kept to herself. She could never be positive unless it was confirmed by the subject, and that was all subjective anyway.

"I would appreciate that." The shinigami murmured. Knowing she shouldn't allow herself, but she did anyway, proffering one of the bags to him with a tilt of her hip.

"Great!" Watari explained and then rolled up the sleeves of his coat, and the shirt he had underneath of course.

"Yosh! I'll carry all of that for you~ Nemu-chan ♥ Should be good payment~~ Just lead the way to your place~"

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