Entry 001

[chippedsoul]

Sender: Kazuma Asogi
To: Everyone
Subject: Apology

A few days ago, a coward led some people uninvolved in the situation to confront me in the forest, despite being aware of how dangerous that was. I would like to take this moment to apologize to those that I've caused harm to. It was not my intent and that outburst won't happen again.

Locked To: Castmates Only
If you're worried I will come after the Prosecutor again, don't be. I have questions that need answers, not from that man.

Locked To: Soldier: 76
76. How are you doing? And are you available to meet?

Comments

Sender: annoying little sister

[judicialassistant]

[ Susato wanted nothing more than to see he was alright with her own eyes. Still, seeing this was enough to keep her hopeful, even though things were far from perfect.

There are many things she could say, it's hard to know what. She wishes she could practice, but she ends up sending her message before she can stop herself. ]

I'm sorry I was unable to provide those answers.

[chippedsoul]

I never pressed, because I felt I had enough information. I didn't want to be constantly told information I would eventually experience myself. [So in a way, it's not really Susato's or anyone's fault. Kazuma is just stubborn about putting faith in just words.]

I just want to confirm some of the things Prosecutor Van Zieks has told me.

[judicialassistant]

[ She understood, in a way, which is why she was reserved. He had to be ready for the information--and there was a lot they learned at that trial. But it's still hard to convince herself she couldn't have somehow prevented the whole ordeal.

It is interesting, however, that Lord van Zieks reached out to him. How she would have loved to be a fly on that wall... ]

I can do that.

[ But--now? ]

Sender: Diluc

[disdelusioned]

[Diluc reads the message multiple times before he sends a reply. On the one hand, part of him is still angry at the way it all happened.

On the other, the man was clearly out of his mind with rage. Diluc can't speak to the ways in which the dreamworld they're in made him such a terrible force, but he's well aware of what fury can drive people to do. He's been in that position himself.

He's been thinking about Kaeya a lot these past few days.]

As someone who fought you that day, I accept your apology.

I do, however, have questions.

[chippedsoul]

[One of the people he didn't recognize coming after him...]

I'm sure you do. I'll try to answer them, but forgive me if I choose not to.

[disdelusioned]

[Diluc appreciates and respects the fact that Kazuma is straightforward about answers being conditional. Surely, he's not eager to rehash everything. Which is just as well; curious as he is, he has no intention to ask about why he got to that point. He's more interested in the how.]

At the risk of starting too broadly, my main question is 'what happened'? I wasn't aware that a transformation of that magnitude was possible here.

Locked | Sender: 76

[steadypulse]

I'm available yeah. You still doing alright?

I'm doing better.

[chippedsoul]

[There's a bit of a pause, because he doesn't know how to actually answer a relatively simple question.]

I'm not sure.

Where in the forest should I meet you?

[steadypulse]

[Honestly? Not too surprising. Didn't doubt there was some things still processing.]

West side of the residential edge. Go in a ways and you'll spot a path, turn right off it and you'll hear some buzzing after a bit of walking.

You'll find me before you have to worry about any of the bees. Clearing, set up spot since I end up in that area often enough.

Sender: Yujin Mikotoba (also locked)

[professorbestie]

[A coward, hm? That's not the word Yujin would've used to describe Van Zieks. "Victim", perhaps. Or "unfortunate fool". But he won't poke at that detail for now; not when there's more important matters to address.]

I understand. Where shall we meet?

[chippedsoul]

My home is fine. [He doesn't have anything to hide, and he's right next to Ryunosuke's home. Sooner or later, they would know. He'll give him the proper information so he can find it.

The treehouse itself is pretty standard. Nothing about it stood out in particular, and the place is well kept, just like it's owner. No one would suspect a demon lived there.]

[professorbestie]

[Yujin arrives very shortly after the directions have been given. He's been restless and ready to go ever since Van Zieks's initial message went out, after all. Once he's reached the front door, he wastes very little time with knocking. There's no beating around the bush, and quite frankly, he's very anxious to see Kazuma in the flesh after what's happened.]

Sender: Daley Vigil

[buriedvigil]

[Lord van Zieks mentioned that Asogi was doing better now, but he's still glad to see the young man writing and confirming that everything's settled down. He... doesn't know what to say about the Reaper being called a coward and seems like a good idea to not touch that topic with a ten foot pole.]

I'm glad to know that you've returned to your normal self, Mr. Asogi.

[He's also not sure about the answering questions bit, so he's not bringing it up first.]

[chippedsoul]

[...This man. Another possible piece to the puzzle. Though he wonders if pressing him now would give him anymore information than what he already knew.]

Thank you, Mr. Vigil.

I'm sorry you had to hear about what happened.

[buriedvigil]

... I'm just relieved that no one was badly injured.

[At least, he doesn't think anyone was hurt too badly?? Also, he can't help but include those ellipses while writing.]

I admit to being new to this, but... what caused you to transform?

Sender: Ryunosuke Naruhodo

[mychosenpath]

[This message bodes extremely poorly for the state of their increasingly large group.]

It seems I missed a lot in the time I was gone.

First of all-- are you alright?

[chippedsoul]

[There be a surprise damage animation here somewhere, but Ryunosuke will never see that in the journal.]

Ryunosuke.

I'm fine. Welcome back. [This is what happens when you leave your bestie alone for too long-]

What do you already know?

[mychosenpath]

It's good to be back. Sorry I was gone for so long.

[Guess that means no more vacations for him.]

When I got back earlier, I ran into Susato-san at home. But most of this is still news to me. So it's probably best if you start from the beginning.

Sender: Roxas

[twilightskey]

[The apology stirs a complex mix of emotion in him, one that the Nobody is a little ill-equipped to parse. On one hand, he's relieved that Kazuma seems to be okay now, but he's also confused as to what had triggered such rage. It's not like he really got many answers before things turned south.]

[Still, he replies all the same.]

Are you doing alright now?

[chippedsoul]

Yes. Everything's fine now. [A little tired and maybe under the weather, but fine.]

What about yourself? I remember hitting you hard. [Just like before...maybe someday they won't have these sort of fights.]

[twilightskey]

I'm ok. I've been hit harder by bigger things.

[That might not sound as comforting as Roxas means it to be.]

What happened? You kept saying you were after someone who wronged you...

Sender: Jude

[spryite]

[Ever since his arrival, Jude's treated the journal like the handy phones from home, the reason why he's kept his messages informal while maintaining a casual but polite tone through his correspondences. This case, however, he mulls it over first. So breaking it down...

Kazuma Asogi is issuing a public apology, which is a clear demonstration of conscience and remorse, even if that alone can't fully prove his intent. But Jude still believes it to be genuine, and doesn't consider at all in entertaining the opposite. If anything, it's all the proof he needs to think of Kazuma as a good (he may be stretching the word) and reasonable person, and gives him all the more reason to reach out. It's also amply clear that these two men antagonize each other, 'Barok van Zieks' and 'Kazuma Asogi`: there's something irreconcilable between them, and Barok had directly admitted in his entry that Kazuma became possessed in front of his very eyes. This seems to lend credence to the possibility of an emotional trigger, an outside source, which is a note he'll be actively penning down in his personal notes on the side. But if emotions really are as powerful as he was led to believe, and Noctaere are literal creatures of nightmares, then... Is Kazuma really okay? Suppressing the symptoms isn't the same as curing an ailment, there seems to be both a physical and psychological component to all this too. It's going to be complicated either way, that's his gut feeling so far.

It is so that after some deliberation, he sends over what's worded more like a letter than a text message in neat handwriting:]

Hello, M. Asogi. My name is Jude Mathis. While I did not formally work as a medical doctor back in my world, I do have medical experience and have completed my degree. I'm currently researching for means of suppressing and treating Noctaere possession, I'm also concerned about how you're doing after undergoing that ordeal. May I ask you more questions, or more ideally, see you in person?

[Honest and to the point, perhaps even too candid of his part. But that's the best approach, he thinks, he's also doubtful that Kazuma may have fully recovered already. The infected is just as much of a victim as others they could've hurt in their path, so making his intentions clear and prioritizing the doctor's mission of treating everyone indiscriminately is the least that he could try doing.]

[chippedsoul]

[...This message was written with a professional touch. The intent is put on the table, but he can't help but be wary of the message, not recognizing the person writing this.]

Credentials from another world don't mean much. Anyone can claim they're something in this world when we're all not from the same place. [So what's there for him to actually believe he wants to help, and not use the information for something malicious?]

Sender: Naminé

[lethechained]

[ Given that they haven't interacted much outside of that Dreamshift and the fact that she wasn't directly effected by the incident, Naminé imagines herself a bit out of place among what seem like dear friends responding to his message. But... she really does owe Kazuma one, so it doesn't feel right to overlook this either, especially since she was hoping there'd be some kind of notification about his state at some point, if only to put the matter to rest. (She'd really thought he'd end up a goner for a minute there.) ]

How are you feeling?

[ Apologies are all well and good, but it can't be easy living with the fallout from such a public loss of control. Perhaps hoping to soften the question a little, there's a belated, ]

I was glad to hear that you'd recovered.

[ Just in case that wasn't clear. ]

[chippedsoul]

[...Hah, this is probably quite the contrast to the gallant cat figure Kazuma initially introduced himself to be.]

Well enough. Just recovering from a fever.

I'm sorry, that you had to read about that.