Premonitory [Solo|Hunt]
Jan 25, 2022 5:22:14 GMT
Post by Kurumi on Jan 25, 2022 5:22:14 GMT
Just one more stop for her Saturday errands, and she would be done. That's all the teen had to keep telling herself! Two fingers loosely hooked through the strap of a bag, gently swinging it at her side. Being the middle of the day on a weekend, Kurumi had zero concerns about wandering the back streets. She'd done it plenty of times! Mind her own, and the weirdos that lurked usually minded theirs. Not that she'd test it in any capacity at night.
Today didn't feel like it would be any different! But, maybe it should have. Not that there would have been any way to predict if a day didn't go according to plan. Maybe, the security in the idea that there was a plan should have been indicator enough! Rarely did things go the way Rumi intended, after all.
For a while, the blonde hummed the random tunes that were stuck in her head as she made her way to her destination. As the walk progressed, the tunes became more and more quiet. Funny how, as they did, the footsteps behind her became more and more audible. It was probably fine. After all, there wasn't just a small chance that the girl was imagining it. Not like it would be the first time! Nor the last, most likely! But, how long had she been hearing them for?
It was hard to place an exact number on the time. Several minutes, at least. They would slow as she did, and pick up pace with her. Of course, she didn't make any sudden changes that would imply that she was testing the mystery person! That would just be dumb! Just in case they were real, at least.
Her free hand shifted to her pocket, while she continued to move forward. If they were real, it could just be paranoia! Maybe they were just headed in the same direction! It wasn't like the alleys branched off that often that it would be unheard of. Just like it wasn't unheard of for Rumi to expect the worst out of people! Stranger and acquaintance alike! For now, she'd just have to continue onward until something either happened or she reached her destination. Unsurprisingly, she hoped for more of the latter than the former.
It was a tense few more minutes, while she ran through some additional details in her head. Had she given anyone a particularly nasty look? Probably not. Didn't speak to anyone. Took her medications. Her grandma knew when she'd left, but not necessarily when she'd be back. Had she checked on the recipient for the final task of the day, to make sure they'd be home? She was... pretty sure. But unwilling to pull her phone out and double-check, in the case the person was just a thief, waiting for an opportunity to snatch something from her. Subconsciously, the grip on her bag tightened.
How much longer until she reached the street she needed to be on? Five minutes, maybe? Gold eyes glanced at the buildings as she passed them, searching for anything that would give her an indicator of how close she was. Nothing too outstanding, however. But, she did manage to catch a glimpse of the shadow of her follower. Taller than her, even though that wasn't hard, likely masculine. Not particularly intimidating, though she had to acknowledge that a shadow wasn't going to give her much insight on that!
Tapping her fingers in her pocket, she could feel something seemingly plastic and smooth, and another metallic and rigid. Could she escape by becoming a ghost? It didn't seem ideal, considering normal people did not turn into pink ghosts, but some of the alternatives weren't particularly ideal either! At least, even when weighing her options, the blonde remained plenty aware of her surroundings.
So, as she felt a sudden weight on the bag in her hand, she was prepared to whirl around. "What d'you think you're doing?" Be loud. Be stern. Attract attention.
Except the only person seemingly in earshot was the offender. Far too close, and still reaching as if he was holding the corner of the bag that she had so suddenly yanked away. Awkward! Time felt as if it stopped for a moment, as the two stared at each other, before the man straightened his posture. "I mean, I'd say it's not what you think, but nobody ever believes that." And he was right!
"Leave."
"Can't."
Something about that response sent a chill down the blonde's spine. What kind of answer was that? Nose scrunched, briefly debating how to handle her insistence being refused. "Alright. Then I'll leave, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police." As much as the idea of calling the police on anyone didn't sit right with her, she also had no intent of tolerating stalkers!
Without waiting for confirmation that he understood her, Kurumi spun on her heel, and began hastily moving away. Except, she couldn't! A hand took hold of her wrist, pulling her back. As he jerked her to face him, the weirdo continued with, "look, Miss Saito-"
He knew her name. Every alarm that could be blaring in the blonde's head was going off!
"If you'd just give me a-" and with one more pull to get her attention, both fell into silence.
And for the first time in far too long, Kurumi took a breath. Golden eyes glared up at the stranger's stunned expression. Don't look down. Maintain composure.
"Did you just..."
Don't look down. Maintain composure.
"...Stab me?"
Don't. Look. Down. Maintain eye contact.
"Want me t'do it again?" Remember to breathe.
The police would know it was in self defense. It would be fine.
...Right?
Grip tightened on the metal nail file that once lived in the girl's sweater pocket, but now took residence in the stomach of a stranger. If you don't let me go-"
Laughter drowned the girl's threat out, while the stranger placed both hands around hers. "Of course you stabbed me." This wasn't how this was supposed to go. Finally, she looked down. While her makeshift weapon was clearly embedded in this lunatic, there wasn't an actual wound. Shouldn't there be blood, at the very least?
Was this the point where she was supposed to realize she should be afraid?
He was still laughing. Maybe from shock? Either way, it could give her enough time to use her free hand to reach into her pocket again for her digivice! But, before she could finish the motion, he started to talk again. "Shouldn't have expected anything less. They wouldn't pick someone weak, right?" Giving an exhale, it seemed the young man's laughing fit had ended, "or, not weak for human standards, I guess."
And with that line, things started falling into place. Bracing Rumi's hand, the stranger assisted in pulling the nail file from his holosuit, before releasing it. "If you're going for your 'toy,' I'd rather you didn't. Don't really wanna curb-stomp my boss." Okay, less in place now! Things were back to being nonsense! And it was apparently obvious enough that Rumi didn't have to say a single word! "Was gonna save the introductions for later, but that'd be awkward now. Thanks for that." The mystery Digimon sighed, brushing his hands over the front of his holosuit, "name's Remmy. Been waiting a long time for you."
"And?"
"And you really need to invest in a VPN." That joke did not land. Fair enough. The girl didn't really seem in the mood for such things, anyway. "You're missing a couple parts to your puzzle. I brought you the one I'm in charge of." With that, there was a small point at the bag she was holding.
Instead of stealing, he was giving her something? Staring at the still-weirdo's face, she reached into the bag, only to extract an ornate skull, which gave off a faint glow from its eye sockets upon contact. Creepy. Really fit the bill for what a stalker would shove in someone's bag. Barely glancing at it, she scrunched her nose. "The fuck?"
Yet again, the weirdo sighed. "Smarts wasn't a requirement, huh?" he asked nobody in particular. But, it was clearly a jab! Rude! "Gonna try to level with you. Meet Mephismon X. She has followers." Leaning forward, the holosuited Digimon clarified, "you have followers. And enemies, I guess? They're mostly just annoying. Really good at compiling your spirits in one place, though. Imagine that made things convenient for you."
It managed to make those angels sound quite stupid. "Which are you?"
"I don't think I'd be giving you presents if I were your enemy?"
Debatable. "If you're giving me one, and knew about the others, why didn't you just get me them all in the first place?"
To this, she received a snort. "How was I supposed to know you existed, if you didn't do anything noteworthy? Plus, if you can't work for that much, you don't deserve more." Joke was on him. A talking hat did most of the heavy lifting! "You're gonna have to make do with that for now. She's all I was tasked with, so the rest is somewhere else." Well, that was a drag. "Anyway. I have places to be. As do you, I imagine." Remmy reached into the holosuit's pocket, offering out a card. "Text when you need anything. Including answers."
Slowly, the girl reached out to take the item, flipping it a few times despite only a phone number being printed on it. "I mean, didn't you do your job or whatever? You can leave me alone now."
"Nope." Giving a shrug, Remmy began to turn toward the direction the two had originally come from. "Like I said, I'm needed somewhere else. Maybe would'a had more time to talk if someone didn't stab me." Who could that have been?! "And, Miss Saito, remember to stay in touch. It'll be a pain if I have to hunt you down more than the one time. Literally, apparently." He would have to remember that she wasn't afraid to use improvised weapons! What would have happened if it was something more serious than a nail file? It would be pretty bad if he lost his holosuit in a public place!
Either way, the conversation was clearly over for the time being, and the digimon walked off without any further acknowledgement. Which left Rumi to putting the new totem away, and returning to her task of finishing her Saturday errands. One could only hope that an episode like this wouldn't repeat any time soon.
Today didn't feel like it would be any different! But, maybe it should have. Not that there would have been any way to predict if a day didn't go according to plan. Maybe, the security in the idea that there was a plan should have been indicator enough! Rarely did things go the way Rumi intended, after all.
For a while, the blonde hummed the random tunes that were stuck in her head as she made her way to her destination. As the walk progressed, the tunes became more and more quiet. Funny how, as they did, the footsteps behind her became more and more audible. It was probably fine. After all, there wasn't just a small chance that the girl was imagining it. Not like it would be the first time! Nor the last, most likely! But, how long had she been hearing them for?
It was hard to place an exact number on the time. Several minutes, at least. They would slow as she did, and pick up pace with her. Of course, she didn't make any sudden changes that would imply that she was testing the mystery person! That would just be dumb! Just in case they were real, at least.
Her free hand shifted to her pocket, while she continued to move forward. If they were real, it could just be paranoia! Maybe they were just headed in the same direction! It wasn't like the alleys branched off that often that it would be unheard of. Just like it wasn't unheard of for Rumi to expect the worst out of people! Stranger and acquaintance alike! For now, she'd just have to continue onward until something either happened or she reached her destination. Unsurprisingly, she hoped for more of the latter than the former.
It was a tense few more minutes, while she ran through some additional details in her head. Had she given anyone a particularly nasty look? Probably not. Didn't speak to anyone. Took her medications. Her grandma knew when she'd left, but not necessarily when she'd be back. Had she checked on the recipient for the final task of the day, to make sure they'd be home? She was... pretty sure. But unwilling to pull her phone out and double-check, in the case the person was just a thief, waiting for an opportunity to snatch something from her. Subconsciously, the grip on her bag tightened.
How much longer until she reached the street she needed to be on? Five minutes, maybe? Gold eyes glanced at the buildings as she passed them, searching for anything that would give her an indicator of how close she was. Nothing too outstanding, however. But, she did manage to catch a glimpse of the shadow of her follower. Taller than her, even though that wasn't hard, likely masculine. Not particularly intimidating, though she had to acknowledge that a shadow wasn't going to give her much insight on that!
Tapping her fingers in her pocket, she could feel something seemingly plastic and smooth, and another metallic and rigid. Could she escape by becoming a ghost? It didn't seem ideal, considering normal people did not turn into pink ghosts, but some of the alternatives weren't particularly ideal either! At least, even when weighing her options, the blonde remained plenty aware of her surroundings.
So, as she felt a sudden weight on the bag in her hand, she was prepared to whirl around. "What d'you think you're doing?" Be loud. Be stern. Attract attention.
Except the only person seemingly in earshot was the offender. Far too close, and still reaching as if he was holding the corner of the bag that she had so suddenly yanked away. Awkward! Time felt as if it stopped for a moment, as the two stared at each other, before the man straightened his posture. "I mean, I'd say it's not what you think, but nobody ever believes that." And he was right!
"Leave."
"Can't."
Something about that response sent a chill down the blonde's spine. What kind of answer was that? Nose scrunched, briefly debating how to handle her insistence being refused. "Alright. Then I'll leave, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police." As much as the idea of calling the police on anyone didn't sit right with her, she also had no intent of tolerating stalkers!
Without waiting for confirmation that he understood her, Kurumi spun on her heel, and began hastily moving away. Except, she couldn't! A hand took hold of her wrist, pulling her back. As he jerked her to face him, the weirdo continued with, "look, Miss Saito-"
He knew her name. Every alarm that could be blaring in the blonde's head was going off!
"If you'd just give me a-" and with one more pull to get her attention, both fell into silence.
And for the first time in far too long, Kurumi took a breath. Golden eyes glared up at the stranger's stunned expression. Don't look down. Maintain composure.
"Did you just..."
Don't look down. Maintain composure.
"...Stab me?"
Don't. Look. Down. Maintain eye contact.
"Want me t'do it again?" Remember to breathe.
The police would know it was in self defense. It would be fine.
...Right?
Grip tightened on the metal nail file that once lived in the girl's sweater pocket, but now took residence in the stomach of a stranger. If you don't let me go-"
Laughter drowned the girl's threat out, while the stranger placed both hands around hers. "Of course you stabbed me." This wasn't how this was supposed to go. Finally, she looked down. While her makeshift weapon was clearly embedded in this lunatic, there wasn't an actual wound. Shouldn't there be blood, at the very least?
Was this the point where she was supposed to realize she should be afraid?
He was still laughing. Maybe from shock? Either way, it could give her enough time to use her free hand to reach into her pocket again for her digivice! But, before she could finish the motion, he started to talk again. "Shouldn't have expected anything less. They wouldn't pick someone weak, right?" Giving an exhale, it seemed the young man's laughing fit had ended, "or, not weak for human standards, I guess."
And with that line, things started falling into place. Bracing Rumi's hand, the stranger assisted in pulling the nail file from his holosuit, before releasing it. "If you're going for your 'toy,' I'd rather you didn't. Don't really wanna curb-stomp my boss." Okay, less in place now! Things were back to being nonsense! And it was apparently obvious enough that Rumi didn't have to say a single word! "Was gonna save the introductions for later, but that'd be awkward now. Thanks for that." The mystery Digimon sighed, brushing his hands over the front of his holosuit, "name's Remmy. Been waiting a long time for you."
"And?"
"And you really need to invest in a VPN." That joke did not land. Fair enough. The girl didn't really seem in the mood for such things, anyway. "You're missing a couple parts to your puzzle. I brought you the one I'm in charge of." With that, there was a small point at the bag she was holding.
Instead of stealing, he was giving her something? Staring at the still-weirdo's face, she reached into the bag, only to extract an ornate skull, which gave off a faint glow from its eye sockets upon contact. Creepy. Really fit the bill for what a stalker would shove in someone's bag. Barely glancing at it, she scrunched her nose. "The fuck?"
Yet again, the weirdo sighed. "Smarts wasn't a requirement, huh?" he asked nobody in particular. But, it was clearly a jab! Rude! "Gonna try to level with you. Meet Mephismon X. She has followers." Leaning forward, the holosuited Digimon clarified, "you have followers. And enemies, I guess? They're mostly just annoying. Really good at compiling your spirits in one place, though. Imagine that made things convenient for you."
It managed to make those angels sound quite stupid. "Which are you?"
"I don't think I'd be giving you presents if I were your enemy?"
Debatable. "If you're giving me one, and knew about the others, why didn't you just get me them all in the first place?"
To this, she received a snort. "How was I supposed to know you existed, if you didn't do anything noteworthy? Plus, if you can't work for that much, you don't deserve more." Joke was on him. A talking hat did most of the heavy lifting! "You're gonna have to make do with that for now. She's all I was tasked with, so the rest is somewhere else." Well, that was a drag. "Anyway. I have places to be. As do you, I imagine." Remmy reached into the holosuit's pocket, offering out a card. "Text when you need anything. Including answers."
Slowly, the girl reached out to take the item, flipping it a few times despite only a phone number being printed on it. "I mean, didn't you do your job or whatever? You can leave me alone now."
"Nope." Giving a shrug, Remmy began to turn toward the direction the two had originally come from. "Like I said, I'm needed somewhere else. Maybe would'a had more time to talk if someone didn't stab me." Who could that have been?! "And, Miss Saito, remember to stay in touch. It'll be a pain if I have to hunt you down more than the one time. Literally, apparently." He would have to remember that she wasn't afraid to use improvised weapons! What would have happened if it was something more serious than a nail file? It would be pretty bad if he lost his holosuit in a public place!
Either way, the conversation was clearly over for the time being, and the digimon walked off without any further acknowledgement. Which left Rumi to putting the new totem away, and returning to her task of finishing her Saturday errands. One could only hope that an episode like this wouldn't repeat any time soon.