Day 62, Afternoon

[glintingglasses]

"Well, this brings back memories."

Those were the thoughts of the soaking wet Murata Ken as he walked down the old path that led out of the building known as Shinou's Shrine.

Quite some time had passed since Soushu's defeat, where everyone had thought that Yuuri and the others could no longer pass from one world to another. Thankfully, that turned

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[anissina_chan]

Anissina had gone outside to get some air, a great necessity after she'd been up all night consistently reapplying that goop to Gunter's body. The residual effects from the houseki was startign to affect her, and it was something she just needed to get away from.

She wasn't sure if she was hallucinating or not, but she could have sworn she saw a face she'd not seen in quite some time. Shielding her eyes from the afternoon sun, she thrust a hand in the air and waved while calling out to the figure heading towards the castle. "Geika!! Is that you?!"

(ooc: welcome! we all need to start somewhere so no worries :D)

[glintingglasses]

As Murata approached the castle, he saw a figure with long red hair in a ponytail waving at him. Who else could it be, but Anissina?
To think that the first person he'd run into was the scientist many men of the castle feared...surely she was working on some experiment even now.

Although he wasn't sure if he missed being used as a guinea pig...

"Anissina!! Its me, Murata! It's been quite a while, hasn't it?" he said, waving back at her with a big smile. "How's everyone?"

[anissina_chan]

"Welcome back, Geika. Have you been well?" She stood confidently, trying to hide her exhaustion. Though running into a face she'd not seen in a while raised her spirits a little. "Everyone is, well, those that are here are well. I assume you've not been informed of the current situation if you've just gotten back." She looked him over, noticing he was a bit damp. "We should get you out of those wet clothes and dried off. I can fill you in on what's been going on over some tea."

[glintingglasses]

"Ah, yes, I've been fine. I decided it was about time I payed this old castle a visit" Murata replied, still smiling. "And I would love to get changed and have some tea. Looks like I missed out on some interesting events while I was gone all this time." Although Anissina was as confident and energetic as Murata remembered her, he could still see a hint of weariness on her face. What happened? Now Murata knew for certain that coming back to Shin Makoku had been the right choice.

[anissina_chan]

"Yes, there have been quite a few interesting developments." Some more recent than others.

Reaching the castle, she ordered one of the servants to attend to the sage and another to start preparing tea in the gardens. The air seemed to be helping her a lot.

"I'll wait for you in the garden. Everything should be prepared upon your arrival." She really should also notify Gwendal, but he was probably busy enough with the previous night's events.

[glintingglasses]

"I will there as soon as I change into some dry clothes" Murata replied as Anissina walked away and a servant came to attend him.

Upon entering the castle, Murata had noticed a lot of movement. Servants were constanly on the move, whispering to each other every now and then. Not to mention Yuuri and the others were nowhere to be found. Just what had happened since his absence?

Eager to find out, Murata quickly changed into his dry clothes and walked into the garden. As Anissina had said, the preparations were complete, with a table, two cups of tea, a flower set, and maids awaiting any further orders.

[anissina_chan]

Anissina stood, as formality would dictate, when Murata approached her. She waited for him to sit then shooed the maids away before sitting herself.

"Before I go into grave details, the most important thing is what has been occurring over the past two months or so. You see, there's this strange phenomenon that even I've not been able to remedy. There are several people that should be here that are not, and a few that are, how should I put this... doppelgangers of others."

[glintingglasses]

"Hm. I see...I think I understand" Murata said, pushing his glasses up his nose with his index finger. "I was thinking there might be a possibility of some phenomenon of the sort. After all, if Yuuri and I can freely pass from Earth to this world, why wouldn't others from other worlds be able to do so as well? Although I believed it probably wouldn't happen...it seems that I was wrong."

So that was it. My, my, how interesting. Now Murata couldn't wait to hear the details.

"And to think that not even you, the best scientist in all of Shin Makoku, has been unable to find a remedy for this!" He said, with another of his signature smiles. "How interesting. What else should I know?"

[anissina_chan]

"Honestly! I'm quite displeased with my lack of progress, but there have been several events that have been keeping me from my work, after all. But, as for the doubles, as they're often called, they can have quite a stark personality difference. Some are quite shocking. I've not quite met everyone, but I've had encounters with a few. Some are quite useful, and from what I've heard, others are dangerous."

She debated informing him of Gunter's condition and thought best to let it go for a while. She wasn't even sure the maou had been made aware after all.

"Although she isn't here any longer, I've heard there was a Julia that was quite malicious and caused harm to several others. But as of right now, I believe there are two Gwendals, two Gunters, two Yuuris, two Josaks, and two of myself. Though generally, the doubles do dress differently, so it's easy enough to tell them apart."

[glintingglasses]

What could possibly keep Anissina from doing her work? Murata let that thought slide, and concentrated on gathering the details that Anissina had just told him.

"Some are useful, and some are dangerous, you say?" Murata said in an inquiring tone. This is what sparked his interest the most. The fact that these "doubles" existed was one thing; the fact that they could be useful or dangerous...now THAT is something worthwhile!

Next he paid attention to who the identity of the doubles.
"Wow, I'm suprised the castle hasn't been completely destroyed, especially with two Yuuris and two Gunters..." Not to mention two Anissina's. But Murata kept that to himself.
"Well, I sure hope they're as easy to tell apart as you say, considering I've never met them before. And a malicious Julia?! Now that's hard to imagine!" Murata said, letting out a light laugh.

[anissina_chan]

The sage was taking everything well, whcih was good. Though she seemed to take it all in stride herself once she sorted through the confusion.

"Well, the double Yuuri seems to have a bit of a bad attitude at times and the other Gunter is nice enough, though I've heard rumors of some loose morality. The other Gwendal is quite spontaneous, though I've been informed that he does assist Gwendal with his work. I was in disbelief about Julia as well, but it is true."

She sipped at her tea, patiently, in case the sage had more questions for her.

[glintingglasses]

Murata quietly listened to Anissina's descriptions of the doubles. If he was ever to run into them, he would have to remember this. Of course, remembering things was his specialty, so that wouldn't be much of a problem.

He noticed Anissina quietly sipping at her tea, and saw the chance to inquire further into the matter.

"Previously you said that not only were there doubles, but there seem to be some people missing, too. So, who exactly IS here? Speaking of which, where is everyone?" Murata had a feeling there was something going on, and being the inquisitive person he was, he wanted to know about it. He had never expected so much to occur during his absence.

[anissina_chan]

"Hm? Let's see..." She thought for a moment as she put her cup down and started to run off names using her fingers. "Aside from the duplicate pairings, Wolfram is here, Gisela, an Alford from another world that I'm also told can be troublesome, and yourself. Unfortunately, no one has heard from Conrad in some time. But right now, there might be a lot of sleeping in. Last night there was a ball for the star festival so aside from seeing off some guests, there's a possibility that others are taking the day to relax a little." Which wasn't exactly true. Gwendal was likely running an interrogation, she should be sleeping if not continuing to work on Gunter's body and the Gunters... one never knew with them. As far as anyone else, she could only speculate.

[glintingglasses]

He nodded. "Ahh, I see...I guess they shouldn't be bothered, then." That made more sense. Although judging by Anissina's pensive expression, maybe something in particular had happened at the ball. Or maybe not. Perhaps she was just tired.

"You are probably tired as well. It must have been a long night."

[anissina_chan]

"I'm sure there will be others about throughout the day. You should be sure to get some lunch and relax. I do have an experiment that I should tend to. I've neglected it for a few hours already. Was there anything else you wanted to know right now?"

She really didn't want to go back to her lab, but the sooner Gunter's body was better, the sooner they could work on reviving it.

[glintingglasses]

"I won't keep you any longer, then. Go ahead with your experiment, I hope it's successful! Don't worry about me, I'll be sure to relax and have lunch, as you say. If you ever need to borrow some of my knowledge, don't hesitate to ask!" He said, grinning widely. Who knows, maybe four thousand years' worth of knowledge could still be useful to someone after all?

He found it strange that Anissina didn't seem as enthusiastic as before about her experiments. But again he ignored this feeling. She should really get some sleep.

Although he was enjoying this conversation with her, he had stayed in one place for much too long and he reasoned that the more he got around, the more people he would eventually run into. After all, Anissina was the only one who knew of his presence in the castle so far.