Keine Quest (Part 4): Broken History

[Hello Purvis]

>Follow.
>Try to prepare self to what will probably be adversarial times ahead.

[DracoOmega]

>Follow.
>Try to prepare self to what will probably be adversarial times ahead.

>You follow Sanae into the shrine, mentally steeling yourself for what will quite possibly be a very unpleasant conversation.
>The interior of the shrine building is simple and traditional, with tatami flooring and paper screens. You find Kanako sitting cross-legged on the floor of a small room, in front of a low table, drinking from a tall ceramic cup.
>Sanae bows and leaves the room, once you enter it.
>Kanako places the cup on the table, and regards you impassively. "I believe you have something you wish to say to me."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I do. I recently visited with the familiar of Utsuho, the hell raven, and wish to know what became of her. She never came home."

[DracoOmega]

>"I do. I recently visited with the familiar of Utsuho, the hell raven, and wish to know what became of her. She never came home."

>"I see." Kanako is silent for a time.
>"After her actions," she says, at length, "can they honestly expect a happy outcome?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I think they can expect her to come home, if her power has been safely sealed as Sanae tells me it is."

[DracoOmega]

>"I think they can expect her to come home, if her power has been safely sealed as Sanae tells me it is."

>Her eyes narrow very slightly at the mention of Sanae's name. "That power will never be safe unless I keep it so. I told Sanae that the threat was neutralized, and so it was. I do feel sorry for her family; it was not their choices which led to this. But their loyalty does not change her actions."

[Hello Purvis]

>"And how did she get this way?"

[DracoOmega]

>"And how did she get this way?"

>"Irrelevant," Kanako says, taking another sip of her tea. "She alone chose her path."

[Hello Purvis]

>"No, it is very revelant. We cannot control the circumstances of our birth, or the world in which we mature. Nor do we have much control over the opportunities we are offered, only the choice of whether to take them or not. And sometimes, we don't know the full circumstances of those choices. So, let me ask you again, how did she end up as she did, to begin with?"

[DracoOmega]

>"No, it is very revelant. We cannot control the circumstances of our birth, or the world in which we mature. Nor do we have much control over the opportunities we are offered, only the choice of whether to take them or not. And sometimes, we don't know the full circumstances of those choices. So, let me ask you again, how did she end up as she did, to begin with?"

>"I suspect you already know the answer to that question or you would not have asked it. But very well. She consumed the body of a yatagarasu that had fallen into hell and gained its power. You are right that the opportunity was outside her control. But the choice was hers, both before and after."

[Hello Purvis]

>"That's not the whole story, is it Kanako?"
>Ice cold, Keine. Ice cold. We have Ran and Mokou just outside if she tries something dumb. If anyone could stop her...
>...Just have to get to them, first...

[DracoOmega]

>"That's not the whole story, is it Kanako?"
>Ice cold, Keine. Ice cold. We have Ran and Mokou just outside if she tries something dumb. If anyone could stop her...
>...Just have to get to them, first...

>You adopt the iciest tone you can muster, fortified by the fact that you may have enough firepower on your side to dissuade her from exercising divine anger in your general direction. Hopefully it doesn't come to that.

>"If you are referring to my own involvement, that also changes nothing." Kanako's tone is still neutral and steady. "I offered her a choice. I said what it would do to her, and I was entirely honest. I did not force her or coerce her. She could have refused, and I would have accepted this, but she did not. The choice she made was her own, and she is fully responsible for it."

[Hello Purvis]

>"So you gave the poor girl a thing she barely understood, and then what? Did you help her understand it? Did you guide her on how to use it well?"

[Kasu]

Examine Kanako.

[DracoOmega]

>"So you gave the poor girl a thing she barely understood, and then what? Did you help her understand it? Did you guide her on how to use it well?"

>"The power she obtained is different than my own. I could no more teach her how to properly wield it than you could. But it was not a lack of mastery over it that led to this situation. She proved herself immensely capable of using that power. I did not foster her destructive nature, nor did the yatagarasu change the essence of who she is. Her desire to burn the world was her own. Her new power may have given her means, but only she could have given herself cause. If you were to obtain a great power, would it also be my responsibility to re-educate you on what is right and wrong?"

Examine Kanako.

>Kanako is sitting cross-legged behind a low table on the floor in front of you. While this means you're currently taller than her, it feels very much like the situation is reversed. There is something about her bearing that makes her feel far larger than her physical presence would indicate. She is regarding you with a neutral expression, but her gaze has been intently focused on you since you started; it  feels heavy and penetrating.

[Hello Purvis]

>Examine self in Kanako's mirror.
>"I would expect you to not just leave me to my own devices and do nothing until it is too late. Someone who has witnessed as much history as you, and has as much understanding of how people work as you must have understood you don't just give a child a sword, and expect them not to cut themselves."

[DracoOmega]

>Examine self in Kanako's mirror.
>"I would expect you to not just leave me to my own devices and do nothing until it is too late. Someone who has witnessed as much history as you, and has as much understanding of how people work as you must have understood you don't just give a child a sword, and expect them not to cut themselves."

>"I did not, as you say, 'do nothing until it was too late'. I kept a close eye on her after she obtained her power. I watched her learn to control it. And it was because of this that I was able to intervene before it was too late. I did not allow her to harm another living being. In any event, your analogy is flawed. She was not a risk to herself, but to only to others. Had she shown signs of harming herself as she tried to harness her power, I would also have intervened. To put it in your own words, would you think it reasonable that if you give a child a sword, you should expect them to try and kill everyone they can find? And even if this were so, the weapon cannot be blamed for their warped thinking."

[Hello Purvis]

>"So you are saying she just suddenly snapped, and in the space of, let us say a few hours, when from being relatively normal to power mad?"

[DracoOmega]

>"So you are saying she just suddenly snapped, and in the space of, let us say a few hours, when from being relatively normal to power mad?"

>"No, that is not what I am saying. I cannot read minds, I can only judge actions. She may have been debating her course since the moment she acquired her power. And it matters not  how long it took her to arrive at that conclusion. Her actions are what is important. When she chose to begin scorching the surface, I put an end to it."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Since you were keeping an eye on her, I presume you also had some knowledge of her family, as well?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Since you were keeping an eye on her, I presume you also had some knowledge of her family, as well?"

>"Only after the fact. Not once after I first met her did Utusho leave the Hell of Blazing Fires, save to come to the surface. This should give you some indication of her priorities."

[Hello Purvis]

>"And they didn't come after her?"

[DracoOmega]

>"And they didn't come after her?"

>"If you are referring to Orin, yes, she did come here after some time. It is sad that her faith and loyalty are so misplaced."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Of out curiosity, during that time, did you notice a proliferation of evil spirits on the surface?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Of out curiosity, during that time, did you notice a proliferation of evil spirits on the surface?"

>"Some escaped from the breech in hell, yes. They were dealt with."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Kanako, I think you're stretching the truth just a little bit. You say to me that you saw no signs of her being odd, but you're also telling me she never left Blazing Hell during that whole time. Yet, Orin was able to recognize that something was direly wrong from just one meeting. Enough that she panicked and sent evil spirits up to the surface in hopes that it would lure someone down who could try to do something about her."
>"I know you had a good reason at heart to have given her that power. But, either you weren't paying as close of an attention as you claim or you chose to ignore the warning signs. To that I ask, why?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Kanako, I think you're stretching the truth just a little bit. You say to me that you saw no signs of her being odd, but you're also telling me she never left Blazing Hell during that whole time. Yet, Orin was able to recognize that something was direly wrong from just one meeting. Enough that she panicked and sent evil spirits up to the surface in hopes that it would lure someone down who could try to do something about her."
>"I know you had a good reason at heart to have given her that power. But, either you weren't paying as close of an attention as you claim or you chose to ignore the warning signs. To that I ask, why?"

>"She said it was her job to tend the Hell of Blazing Fires. It does not seem so odd that she would spend her time there in consequence. She spoke of how the fires had been waning; there was much work to be done to rekindle them. It was to this I thought she was attending. As for Orin, are you suggesting the spirits were released intentionally? As some sort of message? Perhaps her judgement is even more questionable than I suspected."
>Kanako pauses. "I will admit that I made an error in selecting Utsuho to receive this power. But it is a mistake I will not repeat."

[Hello Purvis]

>"So, when you learned she did have family coming after her, all of that didn't seem odd to you in retrospect?"

[DracoOmega]

>"So, when you learned she did have family coming after her, all of that didn't seem odd to you in retrospect?"

>"I feel sorry for her family. But it changes nothing. Would you pardon a criminal because their sister grieved at their punishment? I understand that Orin blames me for what happened, but I did not steer Utsuho down the path she chose. She chose it freely and without provocation. She proved herself too dangerous to be given such a power. Sadly, the past cannot be undone."

[Hello Purvis]

>"You're not answering my question, Kanako. I asked you, didn't you think it was strange when you learned she did have a family, and was still isolating herself there? Did you not suspect anything by that point? Or did you simply not notice due to not paying attention."