She could not remember what happened, but there was a strong chill through her spine, as if something had. The sensation that something had ended, that something colder than the stone she lay upon had come over her, and it takes a number of moments before she can so much as move to pull herself up from the ground.
It feels as if she has been stung somewhere, somehow-and she can't say she knows why.
What she can say is that this is not 'home'. She can't quite tell where home would have been-she knows she's wearing clothes, she knows she's carrying a 'duel disk', but god only knows just what she even used to do with it.
She knows what it's for, of course. She isn't stupid.
She just...
Masumi clenches her jaw, fear trickling into her eyes despite any attempts to keep calm and on top of the situation at hand. She is in a room-a large room of stone, with great windows letting light through. Looking outside reveals...nothing. Nothing familiar at all, just the same as the rest of this place. Just the same as everything she's carrying, everything she's wearing, everything everything everything-]
HhaaaaAAAHh...hhhh... [A deep breath in...and out. Calm, 'Masumi'. She tells herself this and finds at least some solace in that mental phrase. 'Masumi'. She knows her name, and that name is 'Masumi Kotsu'.
So then...
...What of everything else, she wonders, slowly making her way through the temple as she chews her lip.]
[As much as Shun hates the celestial bureaucracy in this place, he at least appreciates that they mostly keep on top of things in regards to keeping him informed about important matters. Like the fact that they've apparently assigned him another shinki that isn't the soulless excuse for one that's currently probably lurking in one of the lower level rooms, as far away from Shun as he can get it without leaving himself unarmed.
He starts down the curved staircase that holds the main bedrooms in the temple, steps soundless on the cold floor, but he can hear something from the main level, and he's fairly certain it's not the soulless shinki. That thing barely makes noise even when he tries to talk to it.
Eyes narrowing, he presses himself to the wall and continues down, focusing on the sound as it gets closer. As he hears it reach near the end of the corridor, he barrels out in one quick motion, sweeping an arm at the newcomer's neck--
--one that's interrupted as soon as his eyes fall even briefly on the person, because that connection is announced with a splitting pain in his head as a vision breaks through of someone a little too familiar spasming in electricity as her duel disk's intrusion penalty sparks through water and surges to dangerous levels.
His hand stops about an inch away from what would be a knockout blow, his eyes lined with pain from the memory but a little wary as he looks at her.]
...You. Of all the people... [Giving him someone who should by all rights hate him, taking those memories from her and leaving him unable to tell her the details is looking like yet another reason to hate the people who run this place.]
[Her senses are dulled-she would consider them to be such, at least.
Even with all her memories though, she would not have had the experience of a true fighter, and certainly not one of Shun's caliber. By the time she realizes he's behind her, he's already speaking...and she herself a mere inch from a second death.
She whirls on the spot-recognition gone, as Shun already knows, but addressing his own recognition of herself is far from her mind.] Who-!
[The reaction doesn't change in facing Shun, but it is no doubt jarring to see her expression filled more with fear than anything else.
She realizes what he said, now.] ...Who are you?! ['To me', she feels like asking. To say 'you, of all people', just who could he be to her then?
And why does it feel as if she doesn't want to know?]
[The fear is actually familiar, and weirdly reassuring. At the very least, it proves she hasn't been outright twisted into liking him like she was in their world, and that those feelings and that manipulation have been wiped away along with everything else.
Straightening up out of the attacking motion, he lets out a lengthy breath and crosses his arms. He's not wearing his coat due to the earliness of the hour, leaving him looking a little less overbearing than he usually does - his scarf is around one hand for the moment, and he's wearing a rather simple black shirt with a high neck and no sleeves.]
That's complicated to explain, and there's not much I can tell you anyway. [...Come to think of it, he doesn't actually know how much shinki come in knowing. He got an explanation, but he can't be sure it's the same for them.] What do you already know about this place?
[The answer, as it seems, is nothing. Her fists clench, and that fear is being soundly flushed out for a demanding rage as her face goes red.] I don't even know where I am, how could I know anything about this place?!
If it's complicated, then explain from the start! Where is this, and how do you know anything at all, if I don't..!?
Calm down. You're only going to make an idiot of yourself. [Leaning against the wall with an irritated look, he tries to consider a way to put it that isn't beyond even his low standards of callousness.]
...This building is the "temple" of Nekhbet, the god I was brought here to become an incarnation of. [The slight sardonicism with which he describes it as a temple isn't hard to explain - it basically looks like a fancy house, down to the plain but cosy furniture.] Outside of it is the Far Shore. Think of it as the afterlife. You've become what the beings here call a "shinki" - you died and instead of letting you move on, they turned your soul into a god's weapon. They've assigned you to me, which I assume is why you're here rather than anywhere else on this damned island.
And I know all this because I didn't just wake up here like you did. [That last addition is a little dry and maybe a touch on the exasperated side.]
[Such remarks do not help her mood, suffice to say-while she is quiet, there is quite an irritated twitch, the girl glowering as Shun explains.]
...Hmn! I would hardly call someone with your appearance 'godly', [she eventually says, narrowing her eyes.] And as for being a 'weapon', I don't intend to be someone's 'tool'! [She might not remember what she was before waking up here after all, but she's fairly certain it wasn't something like that.
...If she was assigned however, she realizes, then that means something else isn't quite right here.] What kind of 'god' gets ordered around anyway?
[Insulting him doesn't really seem to have much effect here - on the contrary, he gives her a look like he can't believe anyone would think he does look godly. It's obvious her further words are making him have to bite down on an immediate response, though, and his voice is terse as he begins.]
Most of the "gods" here don't look it. They might as well just be people. [And that's the point where the calmness slips and his voice takes on a tone close to venomous, obvious anger starting to shine in his eyes.] As for a "tool", do you think I want to use people like weapons? At least you still have your soul - you can still think for yourself and act for yourself. You don't even have to follow my orders outside of a fight, though I can't imagine why the hell I'd give you any.
[Hissing through his teeth, he calms down enough to answer her question more levelly.] Most of the gods here look human because most of them are humans that were dragged here to become gods. The gods who were already here form a kind of bureaucracy that directs the ones who came here.
What does my soul have to do with it? [The demand comes somewhat shakily-no amount of force behind closed fists can hide that, and she even ignores the other points of information gathered in favor of it.
Why is the presence of her soul this important..?]
Because downstairs, I have a thing called a "soulless shinki" that was forced on me when I got here for not having a true one. It's an empty shell. Its only use is to be used. You might be a weapon in name, but you're still you. You can still think for yourself.
[His tone is rather bitter, like even the idea of the thing he's been having to deal with up until this point offends him. Having a being whose only purpose and personality revolves around its use as a weapon has honestly been close to repulsive for him, and he would've released it long ago if he hadn't known he needed some kind of shinki to be able to properly fight here. If he has to have a shinki, he wants it to be someone he can fight alongside, not just use.]
[A shell that was only meant to be used. Just thinking of the idea has her frozen on the spot, words caught in her throat. It's unimaginable, really. Completely unimaginable (but then again she's here, somehow dead, and somehow-)...]
...So what happens to that then? [She instead remarks, frowning.] If we're both 'meant' to be weapons either way, then what happens to the one that isn't 'human'?
[She still thinks herself as human, after all. ...She certainly feels human.]
[At least she seems to appreciate the weight of what he's been dealing with trying to work with it. It's unfailingly loyal and dedicated to serving him, but that's not what he wants from anybody, especially not someone he's supposed to be relying on in battle.
At her question, Shun shrugs slightly.]
I can release it. Either it will go back to the ones who issued it to me, or another god will take it up. I doubt it's in any danger from you replacing it.
[Not that he'd be too fussed if it was - he's not even sure those soulless things were ever human, rather than just artificial creations, and anything that represents the higher-up gods here is something he's likely to resent to at least some degree.]
Hn! [At least some of her confidence seems to be coming back, by this point. She knows she isn't in danger of being attacked at this point-she hopes she isn't, at least. So for now, the bitterness stews, the shadow of a sardonic smile on her face.]
It's that easy, is it?
And not even close to it if I refuse, isn't it? [It makes sense after all, for the weapon to have no say.]
[Though Shun does look a little distasteful at the idea she can't refuse, he takes a moment to word how he's been considering it on his end.]
Think of it this way. You can refuse, yes, but there's no getting away from the fact that the higher-up gods brought you here to be a weapon. I doubt they're going to just let someone they picked for that purpose wander around without a god - if you refuse, they'll probably just keep offering you to different gods until you accept or they decide you're more trouble than you're worth and most likely do something much worse.
[And even if he can't tell her much about their past, he can say at least one thing.] I'm not interested in making you do anything you don't want to do, unless you don't want to fight to protect humans. And you don't seem like that kind of person.
[If there's one thing he can say confidently about Masumi from their previous interactions, it's that she has no problem with fighting when necessary.]
lmao I just now realized that my icon overhaul screwed up basically -all- of the ones in this thread
[There is a muffled grunt, the girl grimacing and looking away immediately. Shun has a point-he has a lot of points, actually, ones that do not at all make this appealing. That's it then? She's dead, and now she gets to be a tool?
At the very least he's claimed she won't be ordered around as such, but as if she could trust someone that quickly! The very thoughts only serve to twist her expression deeper into a scowl once more, until it boils over and has her turn back to Shun.]
And would you know what sort of person I am from just this? My, at least one of us knows who the other is! [she scoffs, flipping some hair back over her shoulder.] I certainly can't choose either direction in your case with only this!
[Well. That isn't entirely true, but she's in a mood after all, and she's not about to admit that she's leaning toward her best option already.]
[Though he can understand the anger, because he'd probably be even worse in the same situation, he meets it with little but a cold, level glare.]
When did I say I was guessing from just this? [Though there's not much he can tell her, he can at least clear some level of the air.] Shinki can't know their past without some kind of harm - I don't know what it is, I just know something in my mind stops me before I can give that much information to anyone - so I can't tell you anything about what I know. But I know enough to be sure you don't just stand down from a fight.
[Even if it's a fight in which she's sorely outclassed and has to call in backup. There's a pride there he saw in that duel with Hiiragi Yuzu, too - she just doesn't have the temperament of someone who backs off easily.]
So go ahead and prove me wrong, if you really think I am.
[Now, the words do more than simply send a shiver down her spine. Now, that dread from when she awoke returns, and she finds herself forcing herself to the very limits of her being to simply say so much as a few words on the topic.]
...You...
[She shakes.] You know more about me, than even I do?! I barely remember my name, but these 'Heavens' give you that much more instead..?!
[There is a pride, that much is true-but there is also emotion-a temper and more importantly a straining despair that could likely send a sickening jolt through the others being if not for the fact that she had yet to take up the mantle she was meant to receive.]
What kind of harm could possibly outweigh my own identity..?!
[...She says that much-but immediately after doing so chokes, her eyes squeezing shut. She says it, but she doesn't even want to know, and she realizes that.
Part of her hopes Shun doesn't answer that question at all, because of it.]
[Shun's own expression gets more and more discontent as she speaks - seeing Yuto as a shinki had been jarring enough, but he'd been enough used to it that he hadn't had this realisation. Seeing it in process really doesn't improve his opinion on how the heavens treat shinki's pasts.
When he speaks again, his voice is calm, even though there's an obvious sour note beneath it.]
I've thought the same myself. I hate it as much as you do, and you're not the first I've known more about than they did. But I'm not going to risk someone else's life - or afterlife - just to test the limits of it, even if I didn't have this ridiculous instinct stopping me from talking about it.
[And he'd want to try with her possibly even more than he did with Yuto - in Yuto's case, they were friends. Trying to force more than just the fact that they were on him while knowing it could harm him would be selfish as hell. In Masumi's case, though, they were as good as enemies, and leaving her unaware of that is, to him, the more selfish option, because he knows he wouldn't want to find out after however long a period of service that he'd been working for someone he should have been hating the whole time.]
[It's frustrating to see, even if he didn't know Masumi well and certainly never enough to consider her more than a passing acquaintance, or mostly a nuisance and occasionally an obstruction to his mission. The fact that while he's here, he doesn't have much of a choice but to be part of this system angers him, the fact that they keep taking people he knows and doing this to them makes it worse, and the fact that he can't do anything about it even if he wants to is just icing.
With a lengthy breath to get himself at least calm enough to answer the question, he looks to her with a piercing stare.]
That depends on if you want to stay. [In theory, she could try her luck with another god, but there's all sorts here and no guarantee she won't end up with someone worse.]
Do I even have that choice..!? [She shouts, snapping back at the other's calm.] You said it yourself-if they can do this much, I would just be passed to someone else anyway, or worse..!
[So at least tell her what the next step is, if she stays. She'll accept at least that-she just can't bring herself to say as much.]
Exactly. I was asking if you wanted to try for someone else.
[In any case, though, she seems to have made her intent clear, and he resigns himself to the level of uncomfortable this is going to be for him as well as her. He hasn't done this to a proper shinki before, so he's not sure whether there's any special process for it, but he'll tell her what he knows.]
I need to give you a "vessel name". It's what turns you into the form you take as a shinki in battle, and your real name changes you back.
Kh...As if I could take that kind of risk right now, [she admits, her voice quieting. Her tears at least are drying, as much as it is to process. She even has enough energy to 'laugh', if it can be called that, when Shun explains what comes next.]
A name... They really have taken as much of me as possible, haven't they?
[It is true - disregarding everything else he should be in her eyes, he's the closest thing she has to a known factor right now. Though he inclines his head in agreement, there's a bitter snort as she makes that second observation.]
That's not the worst part of the naming. [But she'll see that soon enough. For the moment, he needs to consider the name. He remembers there was some stupid rule that they had to end in "ki", and he doesn't want to give her something completely unfitting, so he mulls on it for a few moments. She always seemed to take pride in her monsters - as much as he still hates Fusion Summoning, it was important to her - and the one he remembers most prominently is the diamond knight she tried to finish him off with once before.
The one with the rainbow sword...]
..."Nijiki". [There's a certain will behind that as he says it, and Masumi may feel a strange tingle at her neck as he does.]
I suppose the literal transformation you mentioned 'is'? [she questions, only to grow silent while Shun considers the name itself.
When the name does come, there is scarcely any time to appreciate the sort of familiarity it seems to bring, as something seems to 'shift'. It's an indescribable feeling-one that has her reach for her throat immediately, drawing her hand back from the collar with a frown.
It feels as if something is there. ...But...
Slowly, she pulls the collar of the turtleneck down, the printed mark of the kanji staring back for a few moments before it is covered once again.]
...Hmn.
..So that's that, then.
[She actually smirks.] Strange, I don't feel like I've turned into a sword~
[At least she's taking it more in stride now, though Shun gives her a bit of an aside glance at the mention of a sword. It's not like she could remember that, and it's a standard reference to make, but it is interesting.]
The weapons here aren't that straightforward, usually. You could be anything. [Which may or may not be a reassuring thought. They should probably test it at some point before they have to battle together, but pushing it on her after everything else within the first few minutes of her afterlife seems a bit much.]
If you need somewhere to figure things out, you can claim one of the rooms upstairs.
[Well, doesn't that just kill the mood. Anything?] How vague-you're talking about more than even weapons or armor now, aren't you? [she adds, frowning somewhat.
She does admit-to herself, at least-that the idea of a room is a welcome one. As much as she still doesn't like the situation, somewhere to sit and mull things over in a more calm state is more than welcome. And they can find out about the emotional bond later]
...I take it there's something of a selection, then? [If she gets to claim a room, there's definitely more than one...]
As far as I know. I don't think shinki even have to be offensive. [He's pretty sure he's met at least one shinki who was something decorative, like an accessory or similar.
It's likely telling that his response to her asking if there's a selection of rooms is a faintly amused snort, and he takes the few steps back over to the staircase he'd come down - for want of a better phrase - earlier.]
It's standard for gods to house their shinki. And this place is more than well enough equipped with rooms for them.
They seem to be expecting you to gather an armory if that's the case, [she scoffs, looking to the stairs. ...Well, she might as well move to use those herself, then.]
Food and all? Did they stock that for you too, or do you at least get to choose your groceries?
The most shinki I've heard of one person having so far is three, but I doubt there's been no god with more. [Why you'd need that many of them, he's not entirely sure, but he supposes it would be useful to have ones familiar with different kinds of tactics, or more fit for different levels of combat.
Shun's a little ahead of her on the stairs, so it's harder to see the somewhat exasperated look he wears at her attempt at a quip.]
There's food stores on the Near Shore. I'm not even sure we need to eat, but it's a habit for most people.
[Eugh. Her expression goes rather dry as she looks back, but in the end she decides against staying put and simply continues up to the next hall.] Of course there would be. I imagine 'war gods' have an entire fleet, [she mutters, catching herself with the last bit.]
....You're not serious, are you?
[Not needing food or possibly other matters...she knows she's dead but adding that to things just makes it...
Exactly. There's probably gods who'd take on shinki that other gods wouldn't out of kindness or similar, too. Or try to take them from gods who treat them badly. I suppose it wouldn't always just be out of necessity. [Thinking on it, maybe he wasn't so sure earlier because there are actually a lot of reasons why an individual god could. It's not a thing that can really be assumed the same for all of them.
As if in understanding of the unease, Shun just nods, glancing back to make sure she's close behind as they come out onto the first landing. To their left, there's a closed door, the wood smooth and dark.]
The shops I've heard of mostly sell snacks and basic food - there are definitely gods who offer food to guests out of politeness and that sort of thing. But this isn't the world of the living. It's not like it's unexpected.
[Shun lets her open the door herself - he's not about to get his nonexistent polite airs on for this. Taking a few steps after her, he gives her question a look that says the answer to that should be obvious.]
Basics. Simple food, things I'm familiar with. If I'm only doing it out of habit, then I might as well stick to what I know.
[Opening the door will reveal a rather nice room, the walls the same smooth, earthen material as the rest of the temple, and the ceilings high, following the curve of the hill. Small, round windows dot the far wall in a line a little above head level, and there's all the necessary things for a bedroom tucked neatly into the space. The bed is at the far end, opposite the door, large with plain white sheets, and the cupboard, dresser, desk, and shelves arc out from there. In one of the corners by the entrance, there's a soft chair, fabric also white, and footstool for reading or similar, and in the other there's a small pile of cushions. No points for guessing what colour they are.]
What I call basic is going to be less than you think, not more. [That is, if it's any different to what she thinks at all. Regardless, it's not really an issue until they actually get that far.
Shun glances around the room, which is a little different from his own at the top of the staircase, and shakes his head.]
I've been assuming it's based on the god I'm supposed to be an incarnation of, not me personally. At least it's not obnoxious.
[White is pretty reasonable as a furniture colour. At least it's not bright yellow or something.]
[She's at least wrong enough that Shun's initial answer is a somewhat derisive snort. He can't say he wouldn't have come to a similar conclusion himself faced with all this, though.]
Nekhbet. A patron god of the first "necropolis" and later a lot more, though I doubt the location is relevant anymore. [Still, the necropolis thing probably explains the earth and the purity imagery.] Sometimes interpreted as a creator god too, and had some kind of role as an oracle.
[And there was something about royals and divinity, but that's not going to be relevant to anything here at all, so it doesn't really bear bringing up. Like the point that he left a certain four-letter suffix off the end of "god", because he refuses to deal with the inevitable childish sass about technically being a goddess.]
...'Necropolis'..? [Well. The more Shun speaks, the more her eyes are narrowing-and it stems entirely from that first word he used to describe Nekhbet in the first place. 'polis' brings to mind Utopian settings, but...]
[It's not as if he was making any secret of it, though there's a markedly dour look on Shun's face as he nods, like he almost considers the whole thing a bad joke. Which he kind of does - if the heavens' sense of humour involves assigning someone from a dead city as a patron of a city of the dead, he doesn't want anything to do with it.]
It means "city of the dead", but apparently it's more like an overdone cemetery. Then again, if places like this exist, I don't see why a necropolis couldn't be connected to the afterlife.
[Either way, it's not exactly a happy, cheerful kind of domain to have. Not that he'd be terribly good at something like that even if he did have one.]
Tell that to them, not me. [Trust him, he's not too pleased about having no say in the state of the dead here despite his claimed domain. Though he doesn't rise to the scoff, his tone is rather sharp at the rebuke.
Why she's that interested in his room, he doesn't know, but from the shrug and the derisive snort that come in response to her question, he doesn't think it makes that much of a difference.]
A little. It's not like I need that much space, but the top room is too good a vantage point to pass up. [Despite the fact that he had to sleep in one of the basement level rooms for the first few days until he got enough used to this place to move into the light, so to speak.]
You think I'd choose to have a system like this? [There's a bite to his tone - he's already spent a good portion of the last month simmering about the fact that shinki can't remember their pasts, and this is not helping.]
I can see and hear if people are coming, whether it's up the stairs or from outside the temple. I don't like being caught by surprise.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
THE FAR SHORE - Revival
She could not remember what happened, but there was a strong chill through her spine, as if something had. The sensation that something had ended, that something colder than the stone she lay upon had come over her, and it takes a number of moments before she can so much as move to pull herself up from the ground.
It feels as if she has been stung somewhere, somehow-and she can't say she knows why.
What she can say is that this is not 'home'. She can't quite tell where home would have been-she knows she's wearing clothes, she knows she's carrying a 'duel disk', but god only knows just what she even used to do with it.
She knows what it's for, of course. She isn't stupid.
She just...
Masumi clenches her jaw, fear trickling into her eyes despite any attempts to keep calm and on top of the situation at hand. She is in a room-a large room of stone, with great windows letting light through. Looking outside reveals...nothing. Nothing familiar at all, just the same as the rest of this place. Just the same as everything she's carrying, everything she's wearing, everything everything everything-]
HhaaaaAAAHh...hhhh... [A deep breath in...and out. Calm, 'Masumi'. She tells herself this and finds at least some solace in that mental phrase. 'Masumi'. She knows her name, and that name is 'Masumi Kotsu'.
So then...
...What of everything else, she wonders, slowly making her way through the temple as she chews her lip.]
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He starts down the curved staircase that holds the main bedrooms in the temple, steps soundless on the cold floor, but he can hear something from the main level, and he's fairly certain it's not the soulless shinki. That thing barely makes noise even when he tries to talk to it.
Eyes narrowing, he presses himself to the wall and continues down, focusing on the sound as it gets closer. As he hears it reach near the end of the corridor, he barrels out in one quick motion, sweeping an arm at the newcomer's neck--
--one that's interrupted as soon as his eyes fall even briefly on the person, because that connection is announced with a splitting pain in his head as a vision breaks through of someone a little too familiar spasming in electricity as her duel disk's intrusion penalty sparks through water and surges to dangerous levels.
His hand stops about an inch away from what would be a knockout blow, his eyes lined with pain from the memory but a little wary as he looks at her.]
...You. Of all the people... [Giving him someone who should by all rights hate him, taking those memories from her and leaving him unable to tell her the details is looking like yet another reason to hate the people who run this place.]
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Even with all her memories though, she would not have had the experience of a true fighter, and certainly not one of Shun's caliber. By the time she realizes he's behind her, he's already speaking...and she herself a mere inch from a second death.
She whirls on the spot-recognition gone, as Shun already knows, but addressing his own recognition of herself is far from her mind.] Who-!
[The reaction doesn't change in facing Shun, but it is no doubt jarring to see her expression filled more with fear than anything else.
She realizes what he said, now.] ...Who are you?! ['To me', she feels like asking. To say 'you, of all people', just who could he be to her then?
And why does it feel as if she doesn't want to know?]
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Straightening up out of the attacking motion, he lets out a lengthy breath and crosses his arms. He's not wearing his coat due to the earliness of the hour, leaving him looking a little less overbearing than he usually does - his scarf is around one hand for the moment, and he's wearing a rather simple black shirt with a high neck and no sleeves.]
That's complicated to explain, and there's not much I can tell you anyway. [...Come to think of it, he doesn't actually know how much shinki come in knowing. He got an explanation, but he can't be sure it's the same for them.] What do you already know about this place?
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[The answer, as it seems, is nothing. Her fists clench, and that fear is being soundly flushed out for a demanding rage as her face goes red.] I don't even know where I am, how could I know anything about this place?!
If it's complicated, then explain from the start! Where is this, and how do you know anything at all, if I don't..!?
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...This building is the "temple" of Nekhbet, the god I was brought here to become an incarnation of. [The slight sardonicism with which he describes it as a temple isn't hard to explain - it basically looks like a fancy house, down to the plain but cosy furniture.] Outside of it is the Far Shore. Think of it as the afterlife. You've become what the beings here call a "shinki" - you died and instead of letting you move on, they turned your soul into a god's weapon. They've assigned you to me, which I assume is why you're here rather than anywhere else on this damned island.
And I know all this because I didn't just wake up here like you did. [That last addition is a little dry and maybe a touch on the exasperated side.]
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...Hmn! I would hardly call someone with your appearance 'godly', [she eventually says, narrowing her eyes.] And as for being a 'weapon', I don't intend to be someone's 'tool'! [She might not remember what she was before waking up here after all, but she's fairly certain it wasn't something like that.
...If she was assigned however, she realizes, then that means something else isn't quite right here.] What kind of 'god' gets ordered around anyway?
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Most of the "gods" here don't look it. They might as well just be people. [And that's the point where the calmness slips and his voice takes on a tone close to venomous, obvious anger starting to shine in his eyes.] As for a "tool", do you think I want to use people like weapons? At least you still have your soul - you can still think for yourself and act for yourself. You don't even have to follow my orders outside of a fight, though I can't imagine why the hell I'd give you any.
[Hissing through his teeth, he calms down enough to answer her question more levelly.] Most of the gods here look human because most of them are humans that were dragged here to become gods. The gods who were already here form a kind of bureaucracy that directs the ones who came here.
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[That seems a little out of place...]
What does my soul have to do with it? [The demand comes somewhat shakily-no amount of force behind closed fists can hide that, and she even ignores the other points of information gathered in favor of it.
Why is the presence of her soul this important..?]
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[His tone is rather bitter, like even the idea of the thing he's been having to deal with up until this point offends him. Having a being whose only purpose and personality revolves around its use as a weapon has honestly been close to repulsive for him, and he would've released it long ago if he hadn't known he needed some kind of shinki to be able to properly fight here. If he has to have a shinki, he wants it to be someone he can fight alongside, not just use.]
tough bananas masumi ur gonna be a snake
...So what happens to that then? [She instead remarks, frowning.] If we're both 'meant' to be weapons either way, then what happens to the one that isn't 'human'?
[She still thinks herself as human, after all. ...She certainly feels human.]
seems legit
At her question, Shun shrugs slightly.]
I can release it. Either it will go back to the ones who issued it to me, or another god will take it up. I doubt it's in any danger from you replacing it.
[Not that he'd be too fussed if it was - he's not even sure those soulless things were ever human, rather than just artificial creations, and anything that represents the higher-up gods here is something he's likely to resent to at least some degree.]
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It's that easy, is it?
And not even close to it if I refuse, isn't it? [It makes sense after all, for the weapon to have no say.]
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Think of it this way. You can refuse, yes, but there's no getting away from the fact that the higher-up gods brought you here to be a weapon. I doubt they're going to just let someone they picked for that purpose wander around without a god - if you refuse, they'll probably just keep offering you to different gods until you accept or they decide you're more trouble than you're worth and most likely do something much worse.
[And even if he can't tell her much about their past, he can say at least one thing.] I'm not interested in making you do anything you don't want to do, unless you don't want to fight to protect humans. And you don't seem like that kind of person.
[If there's one thing he can say confidently about Masumi from their previous interactions, it's that she has no problem with fighting when necessary.]
lmao I just now realized that my icon overhaul screwed up basically -all- of the ones in this thread
At the very least he's claimed she won't be ordered around as such, but as if she could trust someone that quickly! The very thoughts only serve to twist her expression deeper into a scowl once more, until it boils over and has her turn back to Shun.]
And would you know what sort of person I am from just this? My, at least one of us knows who the other is! [she scoffs, flipping some hair back over her shoulder.] I certainly can't choose either direction in your case with only this!
[Well. That isn't entirely true, but she's in a mood after all, and she's not about to admit that she's leaning toward her best option already.]
at least the default is p swanky
When did I say I was guessing from just this? [Though there's not much he can tell her, he can at least clear some level of the air.] Shinki can't know their past without some kind of harm - I don't know what it is, I just know something in my mind stops me before I can give that much information to anyone - so I can't tell you anything about what I know. But I know enough to be sure you don't just stand down from a fight.
[Even if it's a fight in which she's sorely outclassed and has to call in backup. There's a pride there he saw in that duel with Hiiragi Yuzu, too - she just doesn't have the temperament of someone who backs off easily.]
So go ahead and prove me wrong, if you really think I am.
it's true meanwhile iCON MULE DEBUT
...You...
[She shakes.] You know more about me, than even I do?! I barely remember my name, but these 'Heavens' give you that much more instead..?!
[There is a pride, that much is true-but there is also emotion-a temper and more importantly a straining despair that could likely send a sickening jolt through the others being if not for the fact that she had yet to take up the mantle she was meant to receive.]
What kind of harm could possibly outweigh my own identity..?!
[...She says that much-but immediately after doing so chokes, her eyes squeezing shut. She says it, but she doesn't even want to know, and she realizes that.
Part of her hopes Shun doesn't answer that question at all, because of it.]
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When he speaks again, his voice is calm, even though there's an obvious sour note beneath it.]
I've thought the same myself. I hate it as much as you do, and you're not the first I've known more about than they did. But I'm not going to risk someone else's life - or afterlife - just to test the limits of it, even if I didn't have this ridiculous instinct stopping me from talking about it.
[And he'd want to try with her possibly even more than he did with Yuto - in Yuto's case, they were friends. Trying to force more than just the fact that they were on him while knowing it could harm him would be selfish as hell. In Masumi's case, though, they were as good as enemies, and leaving her unaware of that is, to him, the more selfish option, because he knows he wouldn't want to find out after however long a period of service that he'd been working for someone he should have been hating the whole time.]
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So.
This is 'life', then?
They are tears of rage that sit in the corners of her eyes, but it is an anger reserved for those who are far, far away from this room.
...This is it.]
...So what now, then?
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With a lengthy breath to get himself at least calm enough to answer the question, he looks to her with a piercing stare.]
That depends on if you want to stay. [In theory, she could try her luck with another god, but there's all sorts here and no guarantee she won't end up with someone worse.]
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[So at least tell her what the next step is, if she stays. She'll accept at least that-she just can't bring herself to say as much.]
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[In any case, though, she seems to have made her intent clear, and he resigns himself to the level of uncomfortable this is going to be for him as well as her. He hasn't done this to a proper shinki before, so he's not sure whether there's any special process for it, but he'll tell her what he knows.]
I need to give you a "vessel name". It's what turns you into the form you take as a shinki in battle, and your real name changes you back.
[Hell if he knows what it's going to be, though.]
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A name... They really have taken as much of me as possible, haven't they?
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That's not the worst part of the naming. [But she'll see that soon enough. For the moment, he needs to consider the name. He remembers there was some stupid rule that they had to end in "ki", and he doesn't want to give her something completely unfitting, so he mulls on it for a few moments. She always seemed to take pride in her monsters - as much as he still hates Fusion Summoning, it was important to her - and the one he remembers most prominently is the diamond knight she tried to finish him off with once before.
The one with the rainbow sword...]
..."Nijiki". [There's a certain will behind that as he says it, and Masumi may feel a strange tingle at her neck as he does.]
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When the name does come, there is scarcely any time to appreciate the sort of familiarity it seems to bring, as something seems to 'shift'. It's an indescribable feeling-one that has her reach for her throat immediately, drawing her hand back from the collar with a frown.
It feels as if something is there. ...But...
Slowly, she pulls the collar of the turtleneck down, the printed mark of the kanji staring back for a few moments before it is covered once again.]
...Hmn.
..So that's that, then.
[She actually smirks.] Strange, I don't feel like I've turned into a sword~
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The weapons here aren't that straightforward, usually. You could be anything. [Which may or may not be a reassuring thought. They should probably test it at some point before they have to battle together, but pushing it on her after everything else within the first few minutes of her afterlife seems a bit much.]
If you need somewhere to figure things out, you can claim one of the rooms upstairs.
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She does admit-to herself, at least-that the idea of a room is a welcome one. As much as she still doesn't like the situation, somewhere to sit and mull things over in a more calm state is more than welcome.
And they can find out about the emotional bond later]...I take it there's something of a selection, then? [If she gets to claim a room, there's definitely more than one...]
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It's likely telling that his response to her asking if there's a selection of rooms is a faintly amused snort, and he takes the few steps back over to the staircase he'd come down - for want of a better phrase - earlier.]
It's standard for gods to house their shinki. And this place is more than well enough equipped with rooms for them.
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Food and all? Did they stock that for you too, or do you at least get to choose your groceries?
[hey-]
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Shun's a little ahead of her on the stairs, so it's harder to see the somewhat exasperated look he wears at her attempt at a quip.]
There's food stores on the Near Shore. I'm not even sure we need to eat, but it's a habit for most people.
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....You're not serious, are you?
[Not needing food or possibly other matters...she knows she's dead but adding that to things just makes it...
Worse, somehow.]
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As if in understanding of the unease, Shun just nods, glancing back to make sure she's close behind as they come out onto the first landing. To their left, there's a closed door, the wood smooth and dark.]
The shops I've heard of mostly sell snacks and basic food - there are definitely gods who offer food to guests out of politeness and that sort of thing. But this isn't the world of the living. It's not like it's unexpected.
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...Perhaps something more than this? Well. She looks to the first door, already moving to check it.]
And you? [What kind of food do you have, if at all then?]
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Basics. Simple food, things I'm familiar with. If I'm only doing it out of habit, then I might as well stick to what I know.
[Opening the door will reveal a rather nice room, the walls the same smooth, earthen material as the rest of the temple, and the ceilings high, following the curve of the hill. Small, round windows dot the far wall in a line a little above head level, and there's all the necessary things for a bedroom tucked neatly into the space. The bed is at the far end, opposite the door, large with plain white sheets, and the cupboard, dresser, desk, and shelves arc out from there. In one of the corners by the entrance, there's a soft chair, fabric also white, and footstool for reading or similar, and in the other there's a small pile of cushions. No points for guessing what colour they are.]
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....Wow. It's. Well.]
...I would almost say it's blinding, [she remarks, raising an eyebrow.] You don't have much say in the decor, do you?
[Otherwise, she would say his image is quite misleading.]
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Shun glances around the room, which is a little different from his own at the top of the staircase, and shakes his head.]
I've been assuming it's based on the god I'm supposed to be an incarnation of, not me personally. At least it's not obnoxious.
[White is pretty reasonable as a furniture colour. At least it's not bright yellow or something.]
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[Well.
She's not wrong, but she's definitely not Right.]
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Nekhbet. A patron god of the first "necropolis" and later a lot more, though I doubt the location is relevant anymore. [Still, the necropolis thing probably explains the earth and the purity imagery.] Sometimes interpreted as a creator god too, and had some kind of role as an oracle.
[And there was something about royals and divinity, but that's not going to be relevant to anything here at all, so it doesn't really bear bringing up. Like the point that he left a certain four-letter suffix off the end of "god", because he refuses to deal with the inevitable childish sass about technically being a goddess.]
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...Isn't that a form of 'afterlife'?
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It means "city of the dead", but apparently it's more like an overdone cemetery. Then again, if places like this exist, I don't see why a necropolis couldn't be connected to the afterlife.
[Either way, it's not exactly a happy, cheerful kind of domain to have. Not that he'd be terribly good at something like that even if he did have one.]
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[Hmm. This seems alright...] ...This works well enough for me. ...I'd imagine yours is a little 'more' than this, hmn..?
[And not by choice, of course~]
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Why she's that interested in his room, he doesn't know, but from the shrug and the derisive snort that come in response to her question, he doesn't think it makes that much of a difference.]
A little. It's not like I need that much space, but the top room is too good a vantage point to pass up. [Despite the fact that he had to sleep in one of the basement level rooms for the first few days until he got enough used to this place to move into the light, so to speak.]
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Just what is there to see from here, then?
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I can see and hear if people are coming, whether it's up the stairs or from outside the temple. I don't like being caught by surprise.
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Though somehow, that doesn't surprise me...