Keine Quest (Part 4): Broken History

[DracoOmega]

>"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."

>"Not all families are close, Keine. And not all affection is equally reciprocated. Perhaps, once she realized what she was capable of, she no longer cared. Or perhaps she was simply preoccupied with the task before her. Why does this matter?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"It matters because you are making more and more convoluted excuses to try to justify that either you didn't notice, or you did notice and didn't care. Kanako, you let it happen. Whether it was accidental or not, you could have done something, and you didn't. And you're trying to hide it. And, more to the point, you're trying to hide her. More over, I don't believe she is nearly as bad as you claim she is. Or, at least she wasn't before you stuffed her into some hole in the ground."
>Stay calm. Stay cool. Don't be intimidated. She's just...a major deity...stay calm!

[DracoOmega]

>"It matters because you are making more and more convoluted excuses to try to justify that either you didn't notice, or you did notice and didn't care. Kanako, you let it happen. Whether it was accidental or not, you could have done something, and you didn't. And you're trying to hide it. And, more to the point, you're trying to hide her. More over, I don't believe she is nearly as bad as you claim she is. Or, at least she wasn't before you stuffed her into some hole in the ground."
>Stay calm. Stay cool. Don't be intimidated. She's just...a major deity...stay calm!

>"I let nothing happen. She demonstrated intent, and I acted accordingly. No one was harmed only because I did not 'let it happen', as you so put it. What would you have had me do? Speak softly to her of how wanton destruction is neither amusing nor acceptable? No one of sound character should ever need be reminded of this."
>You do your best not to feel very small in the face of Kanako's presence. It's... harder than you'd like to admit. While she seems calm, there is a weight behind every word she speaks to you. It feels like confronting a force much greater than you, in more than one sense.

[Hello Purvis]

>"You either ignored obvious signs, Kanako, or you just ignored her. It didn't have to happen if you had gotten to her in time. And you, of all people, should have been able to get to her in time. You talk about choice and whatnot, but people don't choose to go insane, Kanako. It's something forced upon them."

[DracoOmega]

>"You either ignored obvious signs, Kanako, or you just ignored her. It didn't have to happen if you had gotten to her in time. And you, of all people, should have been able to get to her in time. You talk about choice and whatnot, but people don't choose to go insane, Kanako. It's something forced upon them."

>"So you think her actions are the product of insanity, now? Then what do you expect I could have done to fix that? And if you honestly believe that explanation, then by your own admission she cannot be trusted to roam free with the power she has. It is dangerous enough in the hands of someone sane."

[Hello Purvis]

>"And, you are saying she is sane, then?"

[DracoOmega]

>"And, you are saying she is sane, then?"

>"I suppose it depends on how one chooses to define the term. If you mean insane in the sense of not being in control of her rational thought processes, I do not believe she was. Though some might call her insane because of the conclusions she reached through them."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Perhaps, then, it is best we let her speak for herself."

[DracoOmega]

>"Perhaps, then, it is best we let her speak for herself."

>Kanako shakes her head. "She already let her actions speak far louder than any words."

[Hello Purvis]

>"And since then?"

[DracoOmega]

>"And since then?"

>"What more is there to be said? She proved her character, and I cannot and will not allow someone like that to be a threat to anyone else. Criticize my judgement in allowing her to gain this power, if you must. I admit that I regret it greatly. But regret will not change the present."

[Hello Purvis]

>"That sounds suspiciously like you don't know."

[DracoOmega]

>"That sounds suspiciously like you don't know."

>"Would you expect her to say anything other than what she thinks will buy her freedom?"

[Kasu]

> "What if you simply beat her and let her go?  I'm sure she would have had second thoughts about decimating the area above ground if someone had simply put her in her place and left it at that."

[DracoOmega]

> "What if you simply beat her and let her go?  I'm sure she would have had second thoughts about decimating the area above ground if someone had simply put her in her place and left it at that."

>"That is risking a great deal on the reasonable behavior of someone who has already proved themselves dangerous and destructive. Put simply, I wasn't willing to take that kind of chance."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Moreover, what would be the difference between her just saying anything, and her being sincere? But you really have just locked her in some hole and not even bothered with her since, haven't you?"

[Kasu]

> She doesn't know we aren't this timeline's Keine does she?

[Hello Purvis]

> She doesn't know we aren't this timeline's Keine does she?

>Sanae knows. So there's a pretty good chance Kanako knows one way or another.

[DracoOmega]

>"Moreover, what would be the difference between her just saying anything, and her being sincere? But you really have just locked her in some hole and not even bothered with her since, haven't you?"

>"It is difficult to trust someone's sincerity when their past is as hers is. But she is safe and tended to. No harm will come to her here. That is more than she would have provided were our positions reversed."

> She doesn't know we aren't this timeline's Keine does she?

>You hadn't mentioned this to her, but given that you informed Sanae, and Sanae said she would ask Kanako on your behalf about the mysterious youkai, you suspect Kanako has already been informed.

[Hello Purvis]

>"And what have you done with her, exactly?"

[DracoOmega]

>"And what have you done with her, exactly?"

>"She is secure and healthy, and the world is safe from her. Despite her actions, I bear no malice against her."

[Hello Purvis]

>"That's avoiding the question. What did you do to her? Or do you want me guess?"

[Kasu]

> "Would I be off the mark if I assumed that the lights around the village are powered by her?"

[DracoOmega]

>"That's avoiding the question. What did you do to her? Or do you want me guess?"

> "Would I be off the mark if I assumed that the lights around the village are powered by her?"

>"You would be... partially correct." Kanako pauses. "Her power was meant to help usher in a better age for both humans and youkai. Would that I could give it to a better steward, I would do so."

[Hello Purvis]

>"And what part am I not correct about, exactly?"

[Kasu]

> "Let me guess:  She isn't powering it herself per se, its more she is hooked up to something that is more or less siphoning it from her body?"

[DracoOmega]

>"And what part am I not correct about, exactly?"

>"Let us just say that she now helps better the lives of the very people whose lives she would have taken away. It seems a fitting fate. And, before you ask, she is not harmed by doing this. I am not willfully cruel."

> "Let me guess:  She isn't powering it herself per se, its more she is hooked up to something that is more or less siphoning it from her body?"

>"Does it matter? I said she is unharmed, and I do not speak falsely."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Yes, it matters. Please allow me to see her."

[DracoOmega]

>"Yes, it matters. Please allow me to see her."

>"I'm afraid the reactor and surrounding facilities are off-limits except to authorized personnel. I appreciate your concern for her well-being, strangely placed though it may be, but I will not break protocol for it."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Then you may authorize me. You may accompany me, or have Sanae do it."