Gate of Memoirs/Preemptive Paranoia

Chasing ghosts--dead or otherwise--is not Hakuzo's idea of a good time.
"Echoes linger where words fail;and now we turn the space between us into thunder."—Ink-stained note
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "Devil's Heart"	Music: "Devil's Heart"
 	
*Hakuzo: So, she rips me out of nowhere with a half-baked incantation, and somehow it's *my* fault our Summoner friend goes missing.
*Hakuzo: Always blame the demon when something goes wrong.
 	
*Hakuzo picks his way through the dead wood, a deep sigh in his chest.
*His spirit fire forms small, lithe foxes that weave around his feet as he wanders, lost in his thoughts.
 	
*Hakuzo: That aside, I have her to thank for sparing me a trip to Grand Gaia.
*Hakuzo: At least that's one less location to comb through.
*Hakuzo: Now... Where to begin?
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*"It was shortly before we returned from Eyinhel."
*" was there—of that I am certain."
*"Just like before, they took my hand..."
*"And... Gone."
*"When we arrived... Gone!Right out of my grasp."
 	
*Hakuzo holds out his hand before him, and slowly curls it into a fist.
*Hakuzo: There had to have been something there...
*Hakuzo: Something I'm not seeing. Or remembering.
*Hakuzo: What was it?
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*"...A person?"
 	
*"No, a... Woman..."
*"Not that one. Not the livid one."
 	
*"... ..."
 	
*...!!!
Portrait 	Dialogue
 	
*The foxes burst back into flames as Hakuzo staggers out of his vision.
*He blinks in confusion, wondering if that mesmerizing pattern of eyes set in luminous azure was merely a trick of the light.
 	
*Whatever it was, someone was watching .
*It couldn't be a coincidence.
 	
*Why only now, then?
*What opportune moment had the abductor been waiting for?
*Or was it , who was lured into—
 	
*Hakuzo: ...Aoife's predicament.
*Hakuzo: That's right... 's dream.
*Hakuzo: Time stopped for Aoife. She was trapped in her own delusion, but she could not see it...until we came.
*Hakuzo: *Someone* vanished Eyinhel. And it wasn't her.
 	
*Hakuzo: And once the deed was done, was taken away.
 	
*Clipped Voice: Took you long enough.
 	
*Aoife's unamused countenance swims into view before the fox-demon.
 	
*Hakuzo: Fancy seeing you here.
*Hakuzo: I don't recall inviting you.
 	
*Aoife (?): Yet it took you a pact and a half to figure anything out.
*Aoife (?): Whatever will you do without favors?
 	
*Hakuzo: ... ...
 	
*Aoife (?): Call it whatever you like, but you can't lie to yourself.
 	
*Aoife (?): Some things you can't run from forever.
*Aoife (?): Just some parting advice. Like you are so fond of doing.
 	
*Hakuzo: Tch.
 	
*Hakuzo: A corpse should stay dead!
Music: "Dark Pursuit"	Music: "Dark Pursuit"
 	
*Whether delusion or condescending specter, Aoife was right.
*If truly had the power to meddle in the affairs of this "Queen"...
*It would stand to reason that she would imprison them somewhere she could keep her myriad eyes on.
*And this time, there was no telling if would continue to be in her good graces.
*Was it any irony, then, that the only other possible candidate...
 	
*...Was one Hakuzo preferred to leave forgotten?
 	
*Hakuzo: ... ...
*Hakuzo: And so it comes full circle.
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*"The more you run, the more you return..."