[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/5FqwUwv.jpg?1[/img]
[h3][b][color=00aeef]Chinami Nadakai[/color][/b][/h3][/center]
[@Dezuel][@Letter Bee]

As soon as those final words left Chinami's lips, she knew she had fucked up. It was a somewhat delayed realization, but it came to her nonetheless. As it so happened, there [i]was[/i] one way to determine royalty: that damned light sword of Reverio's. She recalled when she had analyzed it, and on a surface level, one might assume the only qualifier for "royalty" would obviously be to specifically be a member of Reverio's bloodline. As a family heirloom, that seemed to most reasonable thing to preserve the integrity of the line... except that Ken was able to hold and wield it. Ken, a member of foreign royalty, so the damned sword did, in fact, legitimize [i]any[/i] form of royal blood.

She hoped in vain that Reverio was not so keen as she in that line of thought.

[color=00aeef]"You're blowing this out of proportion,"[/color] Chinami scoffed at Reverio's... [i]expanding[/i] theory. [color=00aeef]"Sometimes, people just play chess because they like to or because it's meditative. It's nothing special. I'm sure he played with plenty of other people. [i]Shocking[/i], I know,"[/color] she drawled borderline mockingly, before rolling her crimson eyes. [color=00aeef]"And frankly, it would almost beggar disbelief that anyone in this city [i]wouldn't[/i] know who Lord Kiburi is. He's arguably the most famous powerhouse in the city, if not the [i]world[/i]. You'd practically have to live under a rock not to recognize him."[/color] She snorted, her lip curling. [color=00aeef]"As for how Kiburi knew [i]Nightman[/i]? Well, duh. I told him ahead of time. To get me to that damned clinic, that asshole went so far as to threaten my schooling and tried to make trouble for the Academy. To say the least,"[/color] her expression was grimly satisfied. [color=00aeef]"Neither Kiburi or I were amused, and I was told -in so many words- to 'make the problem go away'."[/color] Chinami shook her head. [color=00aeef]"Kiburi must have been watching things from afar and only stepped in when we really were on our last legs."[/color]

[color=00aeef]"As for why he would be 'hiding'?"[/color] Chinami looked askance at the idea. [color=00aeef]"I hope you aren't seriously asking that. Obviously, it's because he wasn't an [i]idiot[/i]. Hunting down people to take their power in public carries far too much risk of witnesses, and as Kiburi proved, there are always bigger fish in the sea. Plus, he's just one man and can only drain and handle so many powers quickly and efficiently. If he brought serious retribution down on himself, numbers would win the day eventually."[/color] Chinami shook her head in disbelief. [color=00aeef]"And furthermore, for what it's worth, no matter how twisted his methods and ends had gotten, I'm pretty sure he genuinely believed in his mission as a therapist. Nightman believed what he was doing was actually [i]helping[/i] people, and if he were to break from even the veneer of that mission -if he were to assault people outside the 'structure' of his work- then he would no longer be able to keep lying to himself about what he'd become..."[/color]

Honestly, she was a little shocked at what she was hearing. Frankly, she considered herself to be a bit paranoid, but even she based her theories and suppositions in some level of grounding and fact. Reverio, meanwhile, might as well have been hurling shit at the wall and hoping for something to stick. This man was no detective. Of that, she could be certain. Not that it was really surprising, considering his past. Someone with an actual detective's acumen might have been able to save his dynasty from collapsing, but that required a refined sense for analyzation and telling truths from falsities, something King Marlan most certainly hadn't had in spades -if at all.

And then, Reverio called forth his sword.

Chinami tensed up at the action, balking at the by now familiar uncomfortable squirming sensation inside her that the sight of it provoked. She bristled visibly at the [i]taunt[/i] -the implication of fear within her- in no small part because she absolutely was afraid of that thing. It put her on edge in ways and for reasons she couldn't describe, not just because she knew it could harm her Spirit. This close to it without any other pressing distractions, she could also determine a new sensation, an almost pleasantly buzzing feeling that ironically got her hackles up.

She could not allow that [i]thing[/i] to so much as [i]touch[/i] her. She didn't know if Reverio's hunch was correct, and she didn't fucking [i]want[/i] to. She would rather live in blissful ignorance for eternity than take even the slightest chance of forever compromising her quiet, peaceful and [i]normal[/i] civilian life. She was just a shitty person with shitty luck, taking command of her own life through her own will and skill. She didn't need some damn sign of "destiny" or other bullshit in her life. She was content with what she had and already desired, and she'd be damned if she allowed it to be upended by some "sword of choosing" idiocy. Destiny was for those too weak to shape the future with their own hands, and she already knew what future she wanted. She would permit no other.

Her eyes flicked to Ken at his interjection, raising a brow at the contents of his words. [color=00aeef]"Ken... I'm pretty sure that's not what Reverio was saying."[/color] She certainly hadn't taken Reverio for an elitist. Well, not intentionally at least. He wasn't all that socially adept, but he was... pretty humble all things considered. [color=00aeef]"I mean, aside from a touch of exaggeration, I wouldn't say you're incorrect about all that other stuff-"[/color] Surprisingly, she thought, given the things he'd said before. [color=00aeef]"-but in spite of everything, Rev doesn't strike me as the type to look down on those not of noble birth. That said..."[/color]

Her eyes narrowed into a hostile glare at Damoclaimh Solais, her lips curled into a mixture of disgust, wariness and anger. [color=00aeef]"I don't need any of that prestige bullshit in my life, so keep [i]that[/i]- that [i]thing[/i],"[/color] she all but spat, [color=00aeef]"away from me."[/color] Stepping back from Reverio, she made to physically put at least one piece of furniture between herself and him. Chair, couch or table. It mattered not to her. [color=00aeef]"I'm [i]not[/i] royal. I refuse to even entertain the possibility. I've got far better things to do with my life. In fact..."[/color] She briefly glanced at the door, jaw clenching. [color=00aeef]"Maybe I've finished wasting my time."[/color]