The heimin girl would shuffle away from Hyeon-ju, keeping her gaze awerted. She was not quite sure what had just happened, only that there was a dead body here and that the woman she had just helped might be a murderer. Still, she did not dare to flee lest she be found uncooperative.

It would take a while for the help to reach the Unicorn pilot, but eventually two vehicles of the security forces would arrive to the scene sirens blaring. The six men and women who rushed out would secure the area even as a middle aged Phoenix security officer would approach Hyen-Ju, carrying a blanket in her arms. Another samurai would follow in her wake, the young man kneeling by Chiyoko's body, only to solemnly shake his head. There was little he could do. Tucking his satchel out of the way, he began to mutter a prayer to the Fortunes. The name of 'Emma-O' was invoked multiple times, the Unicorn pilot occupied by the questioning security officer.

Once Hyeon-ju managed to explain what had happened, the shocked woman would grab her own communicator, calling for assistance - even as she would ask the Unicorn to follow her into one of the vehicles.

Despite the warm weather, the Unicorn accepted the blanket more for the sake of modesty than anything else and joined the magistrate to the vehicle. The questions were frustrating to her, but she kept to her discipline from training in answering everything the best she could. Giving her name. Giving Chiyoko's name and telling them to contact Akodo Akihiko (she had lost his number with her comm in the studio). Giving Isawa Shin's name and how she had met him.

The Utaku shuddered as she recounted the details of what happened, pointing out the dangerous garment that had nearly devoured her if not for the help of Chiyoko and this unknown heimin woman. While she cared little for the unwashed masses, she wasn't cruel enough to not acknowledge the assistance of one who had helped her.

The high pitched whine of a motorcycle's engine heralded the arrival of another pair on the site. Yul brought the machine to a fairly quick stop not far from all the action, brakes squealing in protest. Mumei sat behind him, the long seat making the fit tight, but not too tight.

A quick glance back at his passenger, and Yul killed the engine, kicking the stand into place in one smooth motion. "Wasp!" He called, waving as he dismounted smoothly. "You okay?"

Mumei took a second to take in the chaotic scene before hopping off and following. She stays close enough to obviously be with Yul, but a bit behind. She's the support element and doesn't want to distract with folks feeling introductions are necessary.

Seeing a familiar face felt... incredibly reassuring, and for a moment it look like she was about to break down and cry. The damn idiot Yul was now the closest thing she had to someone to lean on.

She didn't look ok, considering the amount of ripped skin and blood.

"Yul..." her voice was strained, on the brink of crying. "... Chiyoko's dead..." was the first words she managed.

Yul's lips parted, then shut. "Okay. Okay." He said. He took a deep breath. "Let's get you taken care of."

He stepped to the side. "Uh... Utaku-san, this is Nakauchi Mumei. Nakauchi-san, this is Utaku Hyeon-ju." Yul grimaced awkwardly. Not how he wanted to make the introduction, but, well, there it was.

It wasn't entirely proper, but they were Unicorn, damnit. After a quick scan to make sure it wasn't an injured spot, Yul gave Hyeon-ju a gentle clap on the back. Like the squadron always.

The oddly uncertain Osprey bows deeply. This was definitely not covered in her minimal etiquette lessons. "I'm sorry, Utaku-sama," for your loss? For meeting you like this? For not being here in time, somehow, to keep something so irrevocable from happening.

She ignores the problem she can't do anything about for now. "You're hurt too, though...may I touch you?" The tattered holoslate was already in hand. It wasn't a surprise that it would be needed.


__________
rolls before I head to work. Feel free to ghost Mumei's invocations in between moving rp along.

D8 EN PTIP for fashion casualty TN 10: 5d10o10k3 37 27 here

D8 EN PTIP for fashion casualty TN 10: 5d10o10k3 23 and 13 there

"I wish it was better circumstances, Nakauchi-san," she gave Mumei a nod of her head, sincere in her words. "Yes... thank you."

Hyeon-ju hurt all over, so she saw no reason to refuse the healing. And while the water-kami eagerly dulled her physical pain, she hurt still.

"Oh kami..." Hyeon-ju began to sob as the pain of her injuries no longer distracted her. "... it's all my fault. How can I explain this to Akodo-sama and the other Lion..."

Yul sighed relief as Hyeon-ju's wounds healed, and he shot Mumei a quick grateful look.

"Hey. It's okay." Yul said, leaning closer. He patted his pockets, then grimaced; he didn't have a tissue or handkerchief or anything to offer. "Look, I'm your wingman, so I got your back, right? If you want me to tell Akodo-sama, I will. Or if you need to be the one," which Yul suspected would be the case, "-I'll go with you."

Awkwardly, he swallowed. "What happened?" His tone was gentle, but his dark eyes definitely showed his confusion.

She took a few deep breaths.

"There was this fashion designer... Isawa Shin. From what I could tell, he seemed like the real deal. People were talking about him and stuff." Yul might've caught wind of the gossip around the city that day, talking about Isawa Shin the designer.

"Said he wanted me to model his latest design for the governor tomorrow, and invited me over for the fitting today. It was... it was just going to be a fitting, pretty easy, yes? I invited Matsu-san along, figured she'd like it too, and well... I didn't want to go alone out here." Unknown area of the city, kind of not-pretty. "And... and... when I put it on, the clothes, it started trying to fuse into my skin. Like roots... uhm, no not roots, but like mushroom-roots, you know?" Fungus didn't really have roots like normal plants did.

"As Matsu-san helped me pull it off, this... monster appeared." Hyeon-ju shuddered. The fear she hadn't felt during the fight came now. "It was like... a walking... mushroom-man. It bit and clawed at Matsu-san, and I tried to get her to run away, that if we just got outside we could... maybe get away from it. Kami, I cut it so many times it would've killed two normal men, but it just kept going after her."

Her voice trembled as she covered her mouth. "I saw her fell and I just grabbed her, as that... that thing kept crawling into my flesh. Finally got it off after I got out of there, but Matsu-san..." she couldn't quite finish the sentence. It was quite clear that the Lioness hadn't made it.

Any number of emotions flickered across Yul's expression as Hyeon-ju spoke. Horror was certainly a prominent one, especially as she described the dress. At the words mushroom-man, though, Yul stiffened, hissing through his teeth in a sudden intake of breath.

"A mushroom-man?" He said, his eyes intense. "Did this Isawa Shin command it?" A quick glance back at Mumei, his eyes wide; she knew what he'd seen, those few days ago.

Hyeon-ju thought for a moment, then nodded. "Y-yes. Yes, he did." She nodded once more. "It was following me when I was getting out of the studio, and then he told it to stop... no, to come back and that it couldn't go out there. He must've been worried that others would see it or something?"

Yul's expression darkened noticeably. He pulled out his communicator, fiddled with it a moment, and then put it away again.

"I fought a few of those." Yul said grimly. "In a full group, armed, and armored. They're almost impossibly tough. Thank the Fortunes that either of you made it out."

He reached out, putting his hand firmly on her shoulder. "Hey. Matsu-san sacrificed herself for you." It seemed like a good assumption. "Honor her choice. Make her proud." A gentle smile perhaps softened the firmness of his words.

Some things clicked into place, as she now had a good idea of what Yul had been doing that he couldn't tell her about, but... no, she stopped herself before asking any questions. This wasn't the place nor the time to ask him more about it.

"... Yes," she nodded, shaking but still firm in her voice. She would have much to do to honor the woman that had died helping her. When it had been her fault that she was put in that danger too.

Yul smiled, taking his hand back. "Good." He said, nodding.

This time, when he pulled out his communicator, he took the time to send a message:



He closed it again, looking at Hyeon-ju. "You want to go back to the dorm? I can drive you..." He glanced at Mumei. "Or if the two of you want to ride, I can walk. It's not too far."

"I can walk, but... I'd rather not." She was still only wearing her undergarments underneath the blanket. And while it was mostly a sporty kind of wear that wasn't terriblly thrilling to look at for most people, she figured she'd get more stares that way.

Mumei's been pale since hearing of the mushroom creature, but her eyes are calm as she shakes her head. "I'm ok. You should get Utaku-sama back and settled. I'll be sure to check in when I get back." She already knows she's going to walk through the brightest lights available on the way back.

"I'll grab some actual tea at one of the convenience stops on the way back and...hmm...do you want anything to help you sleep, Utaku-sama?" Her own nightmares were still a thing. "You'll need it tomorrow." A gentle reminder that there'd be a tomorrow, and probably a bunch of fallout to handle.

"Thank you, Nakauchi-san..." once she would be more mindful again, she'd tell Yul that he found a keeper. "... Ah... y-yes, that, that sounds like a good idea." Hyeon-ju gave a cautious nod. "I don't know how I can sleep now, but you're right. I will need it."

It would be important to keep up appearances, and be there for the Lion. And Chiyoko.

Yul's lips were pressed tightly together, but he gave Mumei a nod. "Okay, yeah. Check in when you get back. There was that one thing we were gonna talk about." He hoped the quick smile he flashed her made his meaning clear.

He looked at Hyeon-ju, frowning. "Let me bring the bike over here." With one quick glance back, he walked to where he parked the bike, leaving Mumei and Hyeon-ju momentarily alone.

The Osprey nods, moving a bit closer to Hyeon-ju than she was entirely comfortable with as Yul stepped away. She'd spent enough time on Unicorn traders to know they had very different ideas of comfort and personal space.

"I hope they swarmed up there and caught him, but if they didn't and don't I don't think the Lion at least will rest until they hunt him down. This is _not_ how a miai should be handled." Now isn't really the time to mention looming rituals of doom, but Mumei is obviously solidly outraged at all this.