<@Grysar> [Katie has been distracted every time she is going to talk to people about Arcana weirdness. Is she doing anything on her own to investigate?] <@Grysar> [So, now that it comes to mind, she knows that one of her classmates had been talking about her high school experience and then suddenly stopped.] * Katie ... supposes she'll ask around about him. He's in the art department. Surely there are some rumors besides what her new friendly rival gave her. [Date: December 20th, 2003 or perhaps a bit earlier. Katie has been investigating the Arcana-weirdness involving a former high school classmate, now attending her university, that had spread rumors about her then suddenly shut up. She's speaking with a different college classmate, Doburoku.] [Doburoku does evocative detail-rich painted landscapes and Naoki refers to him as "Counterfeits Ghibli Cels in his spare time."] "He always seemed really nosy. Particularly after..." he stops to think. * Katie prompts, after a few moments, "After...?" * Doburoku frowns. "Well, I don't really want to be a gossip myself." Well, he was talking about me. I think I have a right to know. <@Grysar> [Manipulate NPC please.] * Doburoku thinks. "He started hanging with a new crowd. Pretty exclusive. I don't really know their names but i heard them talking one night when he was in the studio late too," * Doburoku shakes his head and lies badly, "I didn't really hear what they were talking about, just that it was good to be aware of people around you." * Doburoku is clearly afraid but also trying to hide hit. His art, when figures are depicted, often have heroic themes. He's seems conflicted all the time, but when he's painting there's a pure naivity to it as if he really believes in themes he has trouble living up to, [He doesn't want to feel like a bad guy for eavesdropping. Make him feel like a good guy if you want him to talk.] * Katie goes slightly pale at the news. "I... are you sure? Who?" She looks down at her hands. "Not everything he said about me was a lie," she admits. "A lot of awful stuff happened. I just- I want to know what he said and why. So I can feel safe." * Doburoku frowns. "Oh..." He shakes his head, confidence returning to his voice. "You don't need this. Look, there was this one guy I've seen around before. Son of a museum curator, supposedly has friends with even bigger scions, maybe even dated a future MP. He scares me a little." (MP=Member of Parliament. Fairly widely recognized if you're in a country with a parliament so Katie would know it.) That's... pretty high up. He was asking about me? * Doburoku shakes his head. "No, it was more..." I believe his exact phrasing was "You do realize, we make our most important connections well before college. There's almost something supernatural about that. Keep me in the loop and it will be worth your while." What he said next was weirder still. "You went to one of the right schools for that, but don't hesitate. Memory just doesn't mean much in this modern age." <@Grysar> [Katie gets a tag to represent her having gotten a new friend for life to be clarified later.] * Doburoku doesn't know the guys name, but he can give the name of the museum that his dad may curate. It's more traditional crafts oriented and affiliated with a different University. (Greg is looking it up now.) <@Grysar> [And from that she is able to figure out the name of the curator's son and her likely candidate...] <@Grysar> [Sons that is. Surname is Uehara sons are Masaru and Aka.] <@Grysar> [End.]