Actually, it really was kind of difficult to see at night. Tinted glasses seemed to only be useful during a sunny day. Observant though she may be, Etsu hadn't taken this into account. Granted, when she was given a commu-link, she knew she had no right to complain about what it was . . .

She nodded to Eld, but let him be the one to lead. She couldn't see very well out here, and no matter how many times she tapped the corner of them, nothing seemed to happen. Most of the commu-links she'd seen did something when one pressed buttons on them. This had a couple. She knew which was to contact Scott, but the other one didn't seem to work. It probably required Qi to use.

Etsu followed Eld to the hill and climbed behind him. So much had happened here on this hill. The day she acknowledged her feelings for Eld, where Eld arranged to meet Illorex . . .

She didn't go to the top of the hill, though. Etsu stopped near the top, but on the reverse side from town. She wanted to make sure she wasn't seen, wasn't heard. Etsu motioned for Eld to come with her, after which she sat calmly and tried the button on the right side of the sunglasses.

A lot had happened at this hill, both good and bad. It was where he'd heard the news of Remmy's death, and where he'd first realized he could see his ghost. It was where he'd lost control of his power, nearly becoming an Ame Voleur, saved only by a girl he hardly knew and yet who had absolute faith in him...

He used to go there only by himself, to sort through his thoughts, to be alone, or simply to relax. More recently he'd started bringing others with him--most often Etsu. Many an evening they'd spent over the course of the last several months watching the sun set beyond the distant fields.

That it was possibly the last time he'd see it was a sobering thought.

He sat quietly next to Etsu, waiting patiently for her to contact Scott. Though if it needed Qi to function, she wouldn't be able to use it--only he would.

Etsu tapped the button once, but upon hearing nothing, pouted in displeasure and tapped it again. Again. And again. Each time, there was just a click--not the static she was listening for.

It didn't take long for the requirements to dawn upon her. Etsu looked up to Eld; she could barely see him with these glasses on, but she could see enough of his outline. She was soft about it, but she snatched Eld's hand with both of hers and moved his fingers, pointing out his index finger and pulling his hand close to her face. She prodded his finger against the right side of the glasses.

It was only then that she could hear static. Eld, too, would hear the static; a speaker near the right corner of the sunglasses produced the soft sound. He'd have to lean closer to hear, though. She nodded to Eld in both apology and appreciation, though he hadn't much of a choice in the matter.

She paused a moment, waiting to see if the connection would cut. When she was sure it would hold, she spoke. "Scott-sempai?"

When there was no answer, she called his name again.

A grumble broke through the static. "M-mm?"

"Scott-sempai? Is that you?"

"Nggh-- uhhh . . ." there was a long pause. "Eh? What, now?"

Etsu furrowed her brow. She had a bad feeling about this. "Do . . . hear me?"

"Yeah. Yeah. Sorry, sorry. You woke me up." He had a distinct Ulsterian accent, but not one of the poor sides of Ulster. "Wait, Ets, is this really you?"

"Hai."

"Why . . . why the hell are you calling me?"

When Etsu took his hand, Eld momentarily felt his heart jump; it was such a small gesture, and even though it was for a practical purchase he felt himself flush a bit. Perhaps it was because they'd spent so much time now after Etsu returned in this limbo that he was so sensitive to something like that.

Eld recalled Etsu telling him about the device in case for some reason he needed to contact other Reapers and she was incapacitated. Even so, he might have found it very odd were it not for the fact that he was used to responding to a voice whose source he couldn't see.

Maybe that's why Etsu never thought he was crazy.

So this is Scott. While it was tough to really get an impression with just voice, he couldn't help but think that the last line was rude. "Why the hell do you think?" he hissed quietly. "We have a situation here."

Or perhaps there was some left over resentment from what his choice in wardrobe for Etsu sometimes said about his character.

There was a long pause after Eld spoke.

"Wait," Scott grumbled, "Who's that?"

Etsu suddenly felt her heart in the pit of her stomach. She suddenly realized that she should've never brought Eld to this. To bring him into contact with other Reapers . . .

"Son of a . . ." Scott grumbled, "Ets, you have ten second to tell me that's one of the people in your report. Got it? Ten. Nine. Eight . . ."

"It is . . ." Etsu trailed off, struggled through her apprehensions, and continued, "It is Tsukimono-kun."

"Oh. Tsukimono, huh? I . . . see," Scott paused for several seconds, "Anyways. Ets, you're not supposed to be contacting me."

"I . . . I kn--"

"Gods be damned, kid," he groaned, "You're on probation. You know how serious this is. I mean, I'd love to chat with you, don't get me wrong, but we'd both be in some shit if you did. You much moreso than I. If you're not calling to report Ame Voleur, then please, kid, just wait 'til we send someone for you."

She at last had a moment to return to stoicism and calm. It was kind of a relief to say something in a matter of fact way. "That is what I am car-rring for, yes."

There was another long pause.

"Huh." Scott paused at length again. "You got my attention."

A lot of the conversation went over his head; he didn't get why Scott seemed angry or why Etsu was so nervous. Still, it seemed like this could have been avoided if Scott had simply used his head.

"Do you really think Etsu would call you just to chat?" he asked with a sigh. It was mostly to himself, but Scott would probably hear it.

He didn't know much about the Reapers, but Etsu was quite professional about them. He couldn't picture her using something like this just to strike up a conversation.

Hell, he had trouble seeing Etsu strike up a casual conversation period. She'd gotten better since she arrived, but she still pretty much only chatted if someone approached her first. He knew by now that it wasn't all awkwardness, though--she was just the type who didn't speak up much if she didn't have anything she felt was important to say.

"Hey, we used to chat all the time over this thing," Scott reacted, this time much more casual--perhaps now that he was sure there was a reason for this call, "Talked about you a lot. I might know your whole life story by now. That whole thing about girls fighting for you for years? Good show, man."

"I-- I-- th-that is not why I car-rr!" Etsu stammered instantly, to detract Scott from what could potentially be a very damning conversation for her.

"Yeah, yeah. So, Ets, we're talking about a small Ame Voleur, right?" Scott reasoned, "Or something you're not too terribly concerned about right now."

"Nani desu ka?"

"You can still be embarrassed."

". . . oh."

"My guess is that you want advice. Which I'm happy to give. Seems you've got a capable young man working for you and all. I can't promise this'll be on your record at all, though. Chances are, the big guys are just going to disregard this and call it a civil duty. Nothing worth gaining rank."

"I . . . know." Etsu seemed a little disappointed--not about gaining rank for something, but the fact that she'd been stripped of rank when she was put on probation. "It is important to what Draugr-sensei say when she read manuar-r to me."

"Read the manual--ohh, right, that." Scott more than likely forgot that Etsu couldn't read or write in her own language, let alone common. "Go on."

"We have encounter Memory."

There was a pause. A deathly long pause. For a moment, Etsu thought that Scott hadn't heard her. The truth of the matter, though, was that he did. He did, and he couldn't believe that he did.

Scott's voice had suddenly become . . . grim. "What was that?"

"There are Memory here, in Hi . . . H-Hir-rr-cur-est." She never could pronounce that right the first try. She usually used a different word for it, like town or village, but Scott needed details.

"Who encountered these persons? You or Tsukimono?" Scott was fast talking, now. Fully awake. Devoid of casual speech or calm vernacular. Professional.

"B-both."

"Who has more intimate knowledge of the situation?"

"A-ano . . . Tsukimono-k--"

"Put him on."

"Hai." Etsu almost felt relieved when she pulled the sunglasses off and handed them to Eld. She didn't deal too well with people talking fast. As far as Common went, she talked slow and always thought about what she said beforehand, to translate from her language to Common. It was probably for the best that Eld did the talking, anyways. As Scott inadvertently pointed out, Eld had a much better handle on the situation than she.

"T-They weren't fighting over me for years," Eld mumbled to himself, blushing when that was mentioned. As far as he knew, there had been exactly one fight over him, and it lasted less than a week, mostly because he screwed up big enough that everyone forgot about it. Fortunately for Etsu, his embarrassment overrode any sort of animosity he might have felt toward her for talking about him.

Though, he did have to wonder if she told them about the night before she left...

His mind didn't have time drift, though; once Etsu mentioned the Memories, Scott suddenly became much more serious, much more like he imagined someone in his position should act. It was a little relieving, but also unnerving as it implied the Memories were even more of a big deal than he thought.

"What do you want to know?" he asked as he took the sunglasses, though he refrained from actually putting them on. It seemed unnecessary, and they'd presumably work so long as he kept his finger on the small button Etsu had put it on.

Etsu actually expected him to put the glasses on, but when he didn't she suddenly felt relief crashing through her. She remembered what all someone like Scott could see about a person when they were wearing the glasses style commu-links.

"Start from the beginning. How you met them? Why you met them? Just who were they? How you're alive right now? No doubt you got your powers back, but how? Are they artificial? Does that have to do with their appearance in your village? Anything like that."

The relief Etsu felt a moment ago was quickly washed away, as Scott figured out that which she was trying to avoid. Perhaps this was why she'd put off contacting him for so long. Etsu sulked her head and shoulders. She knew what might happen if the Reapers knew Eld had powers over the spirit returned to him. They'd be after him, then. Out to make good on the contract he made with Death. Out to ruin the life she wanted him to have.

It was inevitable, wasn't it?

"I need to know every detail to the finest degree, kid."

"Jeez, slow down, would you?" Eld complained; he couldn't keep up with the barrage of questions, but he did the best he could to answer them all, if a bit out of order.

He was calmer than Etsu, but not because he hadn't thought of what might happen if the Reapers found out he had his powers back. The truth was that from the moment she returned to him, he knew that it was most likely inevitable. Every day spent here was one stolen from fate.

"I don't know how I got my powers back for sure, but it has nothing to do with the Memories--I had them long before they showed up. I met them when they came here and attacked some of my neighbors, looking for my scythe--did you tell him about Kageko?" he asked Etsu before continuing.

"I don't know who they are, really, just a few names--two of them definitely dangerous, the other two didn't seem keen on fighting. I'm alive because I've beaten or killed all the ones that have attacked me...and because one of them decided what they were doing was wrong, and sacrificed herself to save the village."

He saddened noticeably, but he knew he couldn't dwell on it. "And I don't even know what you mean by 'artificial.'"

"Ah . . . well, don't worry about that," replied Scott to Eld's curiosity about the "artificial" comment. It seemed that Scott didn't know if it was relevant or not.

It was only then that Etsu had the chance to--with the utmost hesitation--shake her head and whisper "iie" to Eld's question about Kageko. No, she didn't say anything about Kageko. In fact, she said as little about the supernatural in Hillcrest as humanly possible. At most, the Reapers knew the nature of Eld and Etsu's relationship and much about Eld's life story and personality. Etsu intentionally kept them in the dark about everything else. If they knew Eld had something as potentially useful as Kageko, they might have either tried to take her from him, or in the worst case scenario, they'd have recruited him as a specialist.

Etsu dreaded the idea of Eld as a specialist. Those types of Reapers . . . they didn't pass souls, they didn't defend souls. They were supernatural assassins. Sometimes, a specialist's target wasn't a bad person. Or maybe innocents got in the way. Etsu didn't know if Eld's heart would be able to take that.

"So, tell me about your scythe. What's so special about it? Why would a Seshio class Ame Voleur collective be after a farming scythe?"

During the pauses, there was a constant scratching on Scott's end. Chances were, he was scribbling down every detail as he received it.

Eld frowned; this presented a problem. He really didn't have the time to go into exactly what Kageko, as that was a story unto itself. Well, he didn't want to lie, but that didn't mean he had to tell the whole truth, right?

"They call it the 'Dusk Remnant,'" he replied hesitantly. "They...seem to think it has some kind of power that it doesn't."

Which was technically true; whatever they thought Kageko could do, Eld was pretty sure she couldn't. She did have powers of her own, useful ones that he could rely on, but as far as he could determine it wasn't anything the Memories should be after. The entire situation was bewildering to him.

"You don't sound too confident about that," was all Scott said.

Etsu did all she could to not interfere, tell Scott that they'd just take care of it themselves and that he didn't need to worry. That she'd dictate a report about this later. And then she'd plan to fudge a few details in the oral report to keep Eld out of the Reapers' sight. She didn't show this, though. Once Eld was talking with Scott and Etsu was silent, she maintained a stoic visage to the very best of her ability. The only indication that she felt uneasy about a topic when it came up was when she tensed up the muscles in her arms and shoulders.

But she was wearing a thick coat. All signs of tension might be lost on Eld entirely.

"Kid, you can't expect me to help you if you're not going to tell me every detail," Scott remarked, not in criticism, but to state a fact. "Especially under these circumstances."

What he meant by that, though, he didn't say . . .

If it were anyone else such a small sign would have been lost on Eld entirely. But because it was Etsu he could tell that she was tense. He was getting the impression that she had left out a lot about what went on when she talked to Scott; given what she ended up doing, it was probably for his sake.

He placed a hand on her arm and gave it a reassuring squeeze, before swallowing hard. He was going to tell Scott something he'd tried to keep hidden from everyone but Etsu. "My scythe...it's...a Gaiasoul."

Quickly, he added, "But I was telling the truth; they do seem to think it has powers that it doesn't."

"Whoooo," Scott whistled as if impressed, "there we go."

Scott went silent. Etsu stirred. Eld may have tried to comfort her, but she didn't feel at all comfortable with the situation as it progressed by this point. The Reapers knowing that Eld had his powers back and that he was in possession of a Gaiasoul--it was like damning him to everything she was trying to keep him from.

"You're a lucky guy, Tsukimono," said Scott with full attention: he was done copying down Eld's statements, "Lucky in the unluckiest of ways."

Etsu didn't like to think that Eld was particularly unlucky to have been in a relationship with her--but maybe he was. It was a fulfilling relationship, back when it was still something more than friends, but for it to exist, he had to become a Reaper. It failed because she did not want him to become a Reaper. She still did not want him to become a Reaper. Having met her might have been poor luck on Eld's part. If he'd never known her, if the events that led to their meeting never happened, he wouldn't have any of these problems.

Scott was probably right.

"What you're dealing with," Scott began, "Is a collective of second class Ame Voleurs. Seshio class, it's called. We know they're centered somewhere, but haven't got a damn clue where it is, only it's name. It's called Memoria. A few years back, a Memory we got in here--found him trying to ingest the souls in this town in Xexoria--talked a whole song and dance about that place before slipping out, mortally wounded as he was. And scour the dead world as we like, we still haven't found a trace of it. The guy we had a few years back didn't leave anything behind, not even a scrap of cloth, nothing we could trace back to Memoria--so we're still shit out of luck in that depo."