tornheart | APPLE ORCHARDS AND TORN DREAMS [OPEN]

Entry tags:

APPLE ORCHARDS AND TORN DREAMS [OPEN]

Who: Open Log (All)
Where: Around the city (one prompt at the Green Valley school
Summary: Welcome Ceremonies, Dreams, Stirring a shadow hornet's nest. No big deal.
Warnings: N/A

"Are you ready my black lambs? Let's get to work..."

Apple Picking (General Prompt)

As September begins, the apple orchards of Greenfield Valley school are bursting with thousands of apples of various flavors and colors. There's even an experimental breed that's blue!

Those who have been attending the school know that this means a few important things. The first (and most important of course) is that it means that fall vacation is coming in just a few weeks (despite school having started just a few weeks ago), the second is that the school's menu is going to have a high number of apple-themed dishes until winter, and finally, the opening ceremonies.

The opening ceremonies are - well - one would consider them mostly boring for typical schools. And truth be told, Green Valley is not an exception. A single camera posed at the school's main gymnasium, a large podium in the center. For those who can't be physically there, the school's televisions all synchronized to a live broadcast as does the audio feeds. You can't quite escape it. Yet most people don't - after all it's one of the rare times of the year where the principal appears to wish students good fortune.

The person who stands in the front, Ms Michelle Andersen, is the very definition of an ice queen. Her face is perhaps locked forever into an emotionless stare. Bright blonde hair with blue eyes, both contract to her orange and black outfit.

Behind her, three men, the vice principals, who tend to play the good cops to her bad cop routine and insist that most students call them by their first names unless something really bad has happened; Norman (the most average man on campus that no one would know who he was if it wasn't for his name tag), Jeremy (the tallest staff member standing at over 195cm, thin, a bit of a lisp but he always means well), and Felix (possibly the hairiest man on campus as far as the rumors go, muscular, and a black beard that matches his scowling face when he isn't laughing - which is usually all the time. In fact, he's holding back himself from doing so when Ms. Andersen speaks.)

The presentation is short, as the Principal wishes all the students a great year, gives a bit of data on the number of students (they are up 300 new students from last year), the number of important guests that have passed, then as quickly as she was there, she leaves, explaining that there are additional meetings and events she will explain in greatest detail in the upcoming months.

Afterwards the students are treated to the vice principals singing a welcome song (it goes as well as one would expect it to go), telling the students that they are free to pick as many apples as they want as long as they all get eaten, but everyone is limited to two of the new apples and report to the hospital wards if any of them feel anything unusual after eating them. Just in case.

When the ceremonies are done, students and staff can return to their day...although some of the staff can be heard commenting that the Principal seemed even more...cold this year. Of course asking them for details would just cause them to shoo anyone away and pretend they didn't say anything.

[OOC: Players are welcome to speak to themselves or go have some apples. It's a general school mingling prompt! Additionally, it will be possible to email the vice principals during that week should the characters want to talk with them or ask school questions. Typical school stuff.]

Sound the Rebellion

(Special Prompt for the Unawakened, Monday the 4th)
The school's opening ceremonies aside, the Unawakened’s Monday was rather...strange. The night was plagued with restlessness as they heard the voice of someone laughing. Waking up feeling 'odd', although that differed between all of then - some would feel sick, others have a headache, or some just deciding that wearing a piece of clothing they haven't wanted to worn would look great right now. Perhaps they got a few comments from their relatives about how strange they were acting that day, or a worried glance if they felt sick. It might get dismissed with a wave of a hand.

After all, how can you explain that when they sometimes look upwards, they hear the sound of a child laughing and briefly see a symbol above their heads? Or that this somehow feels...fine?

Maybe in their new state of mind, they might not even notice the people that keep following them around...

Better than a GPS

(Awakened prompt, Monday 4th, day and night.)
"Alright Lambs, time to get to work."

Luci's voice echoed in their phone, laughing. Was he doing a peace sign?

"There's only a few but they'll be useful. I want you to find them and see what you can do. Who knows! Maybe you might be better at this than me, although I doubt it heh heh heh…Now remember what I said! You have to get them to fall asleep...but there's no real rules for that!"

For the Awakened, the symbols above the Unawakeneds’ heads will be as clear as day - Luci will even go so far as play little musical tunes when the characters are close by or distract them using electronics. "Come on! Stop wasting time and do something!"

For the Unawakened who have a relative, it will be somewhat easy. It is the others that will be a pain. Maybe that's why Luci asked for help. Or maybe he just wanted to see his 'lambs' struggle. "Get them to bed! It's not that hard! If you have trouble, just show them the program I've put into your phone and toaster! Or knock them with your toaster first if you want, I don't care! Just go in teams when you go after them, got it?"

It's obvious that 'sleeping' as far as Luci is concerned, is when someone is unconscious - he seems to almost want someone to knock an Unawakened out and then drag him into a room and let themselves go to sleep.

Once the task is done, and the place is secure, the characters will have to do the same. While the hypnotic wheel from the program is the easiest way, there's no hard rule about knocking oneself out either.

MINDJACK
Once the characters get inside, they'll be in the person's mind and dreams. Eddan's memories are predominant, and the unawakened will be standing there wandering around. It will be up to the Awakened to peel back the fabric of reality, much like curtains and show them the true memories of their past...

But beware. Shadows lurk here, and transforming will be necessarily. And if a character dies in someone else's dream...they might never wake up. So be careful...

The main mission is to showcase the person a few memories. Give them an idea that something might be amiss...it can be a little or a lot. Just be careful that the more memories, the stronger the shadows become... When both are done and awaken, ten minutes will have passed. Perhaps it will be time for question afterwards.

[OOC:The Unawakened characters need to be isolated for the program to run, and so do the players, so half the 'fun' will be setting up the traps so that the characters will be alone.

Awakened might decide to have someone stand on guard while the others go to sleep with the Unawakened, or just all stupidly go together, or find an area where they won't be disturbed - everything is up to you.

The dreamscape can be anything the Unawakened desires! It could be good memories of their time in Eddan or bad memories, a mixture of both, or just silly dreams. Whatever it is, the Awakened will need to 'peel' those memories away - for example showing them that their mother was someone else in their other life, or even directing the person to a mirror so that they can see their true selves. But for each memory - both good or bad, shadows will start to attack both the Unawakened and Awakened. Be careful and let the mods know if a mission goes REALLY bad.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Then it'll be good for you to find out."

To have people that you can rely on without thinking, whether that bond was forged in blood or experience...it was the most precious thing that Reimi could think of in any world. She's glad that Kit will have the opportunity to feel that now with a sincerity that might have been odd in anyone else. Few people felt deeply for relative strangers.

When he drops a hand on her shoulder she returns his words with a cheerful tone that belies the stubbornness burning in her eyes. A smile quirks up one side of her mouth as she links her arm with Kit's own; it's symbolic more than a true vice grip, easily escaped from whenever he wishes. "We'll go together."

Kit makes no attempt to escape and instead finds genuine mirth returning to his laugh.

Beneath the shelter of his free hand, which rises to conceal his amused smile, he murmurs to himself, "Walk with me hand in hand."

The meaning of the cosmos flower. Bold and pink and symbolic of peace, it suits her far more than he'd realized before tonight, although that is something he'll keep to himself. For now, at least, especially as he steps through the large tear in his dream with her on his arm and what he believes more of those eyes fluttering after them from behind.

The other side reveals an ordinary looking scenery, albeit many, many miles away from Eddan in the country Japan. Kit recognizes it not so much from whatever this vision is, but from what he knows of the culture and has learned through his reading. Though it does seem familiar, particularly when he sees himself as an infant in Shiori's arms, as a toddler raised in her care, and a young boy too independent for his own good.

He feels the soul of the youko within him, biding its time until it will be strong enough to return to the Makai, but that desire changes one day when the woman saves his life...

As Kit looks on at the stupidity of this child that looks so much like him, his heart flutters in sync with guilt and concern for the mother whose arms are lacerated by glass but worries not for her own injuries, only his. She would give her life for him, he realizes. If he let her, she would gladly give it up. And that terrifies him.

Reimi tilts her head a little to try and catch the muffled words, but fails to glean anything coherent from the attempt. She doesn't pry, however, perfectly content to have done...whatever it was she'd done to bring a little sincere brightness to his disposition. Moments like that would be precious tonight.

The prediction comes true almost forcefully as soon as they enter the next layer of Kit's memories. The setting before them is so much like Morioh in so many ways that she finds herself startled to the brink of tears; only the sudden shift to the more intimate setting of Kit's former home and a very determined set of blinking prevents the waterworks from beginning. God, she missed home so much.

It's easy to distract herself with the appearance of an incredibly adorable baby, which she makes certain to comment on to that effect to her companion. As time accelerates before them she falls silent out of respect, quietly watching events unfold. It's a little selfish, perhaps, but she sees so much of Rohan in this childish overconfidence.

Eventually she speaks again, her voice much softer and filled with an undefinable emotion. "...you're lucky."

Kit doesn't miss the way Emily responds to the dreamscape. More than the way her eyes glisten even if no tears escape down her cheeks, he can tell by the way she holds onto his arm. For reasons he cannot fathom, can only assume, she finds something here familiar. But it isn't him. She makes that clear when she pulls herself together again to tease him, and again after when she tells him that he's lucky.

For as much familiarity as she may have discovered in his dream, Kit senses a wonder at the newness, too. Perhaps the appeal is a home so far away from home? After all, if he can dream of being born in a country so far away, isn't it also possible that she could do the same?

What about any of that is fortunate is beyond him, of course. He feels like a fool for having been the one to cause Shiori to throw herself in harm's way for him. This woman who had done nothing but care for, protect, and love him...and this was how he repaid her.

"Perhaps," Kit answers quietly after a moment, "but I cannot say the same for her."

The spirit of that youko had stolen its way inside her and had overtaken the life of her unborn child. Not unlike the many families Kit had charmed his way into, but it always ended the same way. He takes so much from other people, but what has he ever really given back in return?

Something in the distance, glimmering faintly upon a pedestal, captures his attention. From where they are now, he cannot make it out clearly, except to discern that it must be a fragment belonging to another dream. Patting her hand, Kit starts in its direction.

"Let's go."

With a small nod Reimi follows without question, sparing only a brief glance back at what they're leaving before putting her attention completely on the indiscernible item ahead of them. The past was in the past. While it was important to rediscover it, there was still nothing to be gained from dwelling on dead moments excessively.

"You're wrong," she says eventually, the silence having stretched out so long it seems almost a non sequitur. "Not everyone has something they care about with their heart and soul."

Even if that love caused them pain at times, it was still an untold blessing. There was a beautiful warmth that came with loving something enough to know instinctively you'd trade your own life for it without a second thought. Nothing in any world could come close.

Unlike his companion, Kit doesn't spare a glance for what they're leaving behind. He's not without the desire to look and, in fact, it takes him a good deal more effort to refrain than he's accustomed to expending on other people, particularly strangers, but he succeeds. For better or for worse.

After all, regardless of how real the hand around his heart feels, the woman he'd called mother is only a dream here. There's nothing he can do for her scarred arms. There is no point in lingering on the past or things that may not have really ever been in the first place.

By the time they come to stand before the pedestal where it appears three objects rest and not just one, Kit still hasn't decided how he feels about Emily's opinion.

He untangles his arm from her grasp gently and steps closer to the treasures before him...

"Is selfless love truly worth sacrificing your own life?"

"Every time."

Her answer is instantaneous and devoid of uncertainty. Given the opportunity, knowing what she does now, Reimi would have repeated her actions on that cursed night over and over into eternity. No future of her own was worth taking away even the slightest potential to let Rohan grow up confident and strong.

Reimi allows him to separate without a struggle, folding her newly freed arms behind her back as she makes to circle the pedestal as well. There's open curiosity on her face, but also (to her own surprise) a measure of unease. The objects were so innocuous in appearance, and yet she felt as if they were standing on the edge of a deep pit simply by looking at them...

Every time...

Kit has never felt that way for anyone. He has gotten into fights with people on behalf of those who could not or would not defend themselves, and he has faced a strange otherworldly threat to communicate something to another that he knew he shouldn't, but his life had never truly been at risk either time. He's never sacrificed everything he is for someone else. He doesn't think he knows how to...

"You seem to speak from experience."

Who is it she loves from the depths of her heart and soul, more than she loves herself? And why? Kit wonders this even as he tears his gaze away from her and examines the objects before him. A frightening looking sword, an orb that faintly glows upon the mantle, and a round mirror...

The latter is perhaps the most mundane of the objects, and yet it is the one Kit feels the most drawn to. Such is his compulsion, in fact, that when he reaches for it, he doesn't even seem to realize that more of those tracer eyes have at last found them...

Her shoulders bob up and down, Reimi's expression caught somewhere between genuine and a little sheepish. "It's really the only experience I do have."

That unwavering decision had cost her the possibility of ever experiencing the world beyond the limited scope of a small-town teenager, still new to even that state of being. She doesn't regret it - never could - but it would be foolish not to pretend that there hadn't been a price to pay. So much of her knowledge came secondhand, stolen away from 'Emily' and her world.

It's a story that she thinks Kit may benefit from hearing, loathe though she is to divulge it to anyone. But, if it could help him see himself a little more clearly...maybe when all of this was said and done.

At the moment there's no time for such thoughts. Her companion may be entranced by the siren call of his own past, but Reimi's heightened instincts as a Navigator are practically screaming at her over the danger honing in on the both of them. She makes no comment to Kit, allowing his preoccupation with the mirror to serve as cover for her to quietly slip away behind him.

Only the faint rustle of a breeze, easily ignored, marks her passing as Orias emerges once more from her shadow; the 'wind' is another precautionary spell bestowed upon her companion, meant to raise his evasion just in case she somehow missed some of these little monsters.

Her fingers twitch at her sides, calling forth another aspect of herself. These eyes were explosives, weren't they? Well, she had her own set of bombs to play with. And as she cocks her arm back to take at with the first one, there's no doubt in Reimi's mind that Kira's purloined ability would easily outclass these weak things.

As his fingers curl around the mirror and lift it away from the other artifacts, the 'present' as it stands in his dream seems to disappear before Kit's eyes. He's unaware of the spell that is cast upon him, and unaware of Emily as she calls upon her demonic helper once again. Even the sound of leathery wings cutting through the air is lost to his ears...for the way she speaks to him and calls his name.

Shuichi.

He sees himself in a hospital. A young boy, a spirit detective named Yusuke, has come with him to see her. His mother erroneously believes they're friends, but he doesn't correct her. She seems so happy to see that he isn't alone, and besides, he is more concerned with prompting her to eat. She forgets to eat so often these days, and if she gives up, she will never beat the illness that has overtaken her body. Already her health has declined so far that it's even a strain for her to sit up in her bed. He worries that if she doesn't get better soon...he might lose her.

Whatever the cost, he mustn't allow that to happen.

In fact, she is the reason he'd stolen the Forlorn Hope from the Reikai in the first place. With its power, and by the light of the full moon, he can make a wish and his mother will be saved. But it will cost him...

...his life.

It is a small price to pay, however. He owes her so much more than that. He stole his way into her life without permission and deceived her for fifteen years. Just by existing he has caused he a great deal of pain. If he can take even a fraction of that away and make amends, then he will gladly sacrifice himself. In a way, it is both an apology for all the suffering he has caused her, and a thank you for all that she has given him, including a second chance at life.

But come that night, the detective doesn't let him go through with it. Not alone. The mirror requests his life, but the other boy opts to share his, thus preventing the need for anyone to die. He is saved. His mother is saved.

And Kit has his answer.

With a breath that deposits him from his memory and back into the present, the three artifacts vanish into a puff of smoke. However, his hand is not left empty. Instead of the hard and unyielding surface of that demonic mirror, a supple and thorny rose lays flat in his palm. His fingers curl around its familiar shape, careful of the flower's natural protection, and as he turns his attention back to his companion, who has taken to dealing lethal damage to those relentless tracer eyes, he lets the rose fly...

Its stem, sharper than any steel blade, pierces one of those bat-like monstrosities, and before it can reach her, it explodes several feet away from Emily.

"I believe there was some truth to your words after all."

It's a realization that Reimi would have loved to witness for herself, but unfortunately it remains a private moment between Kit and his mother. The tracer eyes have arrived in droves this time, likely attracted by the high amount of emotional activity that their sojourn into the subconscious has stirred up. She's kept completely preoccupied throughout her companion's reverie, moving in tandem with Orias in a way that could almost be described as elegant.

Whether supernatural in origin or not, all explosions were beholden to some rules. The eyes are no different - when detonated, they take others with them. She's been using this to her advantage, ordering her persona to corral them as best she can into close proximity with each other before lobbing a grenade of her own into the mass. There's something satisfying about triggering such a fiery chain reaction, and for a brief moment she can understand how an ability like this could hide in a person's heart.

Even with her expanded awareness and many pairs of helping hands, there are simply too many beasts for her to control effectively at all times. Reimi hasn't mentioned this to the other boy, but she isn't technically meant to be engaging this deeply in combat - her desire to protect Kit has caused her to break outside of her role. While she doesn't regret that, it means that she's equipped with fewer tools to utilize in a circumstance like this.

Those limitations are the reason one of the eyes manage to get a bit closer to her for comfort. Another grenade materializes in her hand as she looks up at the rapidly approaching monster; she'll take a little damage tossing a bomb at this range, but it was worth it in order to keep Kit out of harm's way. Nothing a healing spell couldn't patch up once things were a bit calmer.

At that very moment a rose appears from seemingly nowhere, downing the eye before it ever has a chance to come close enough to trigger her plan. In surprise she turns to find the cause of such an unorthodox weapon - only for her face to break into a warm smile when she hears her companion's words.

"Took you a while to believe me, huh?" Reimi laughs, her tone almost proud of his progress. "I don't tell lies about things like that."

"I do hope you'll forgive me for taking so long."

There is still so much he doesn't understand, but the strength of just one memory this side of the veil is equivalent to ten of those from before. There is a reason for that, and a reason for why they feel so real. Attempting to dispute the truth any longer would be like choosing to remain ignorant. It isn't something he can allow of himself, particularly at the cost of Emily's safety.

He may not know her very well, but she has proven herself committed to protecting him in this dream. What sort of person would he be if he did not return the favor?

He steps closer to his companion, gaze sweeping over the ashen remains of the eyes that had threatened them. Versus her explosive power, they didn't stand a chance. That reminds him of someone, he thinks...

...and, as if on cue, a pair of hands slip through the curtain of his hair, fingers teasing the ends as they brush against the pale slope of his neck.

"Don't worry. I've waited on people a lot longer than that."

After fifteen years of patience and isolation, what was a handful of dream occurrences? Certainly not enough to perturb Reimi, who brushes away his concerns with a way of her delicate hand. She was more than willing to give her companion as much time as he needed to come to terms with this surreal truth.

The good humor of their combined victory doesn't last long. Just as she's about to recall Orias to whatever space in her mind that she resided, those unsettling hands suddenly appear around Kit's neck. Even before her gaze flicks up to identify their owner Reimi is reacting, an instinctive chill running through her body that only one who dwelt in the Spirit Alley could feel.

"Hey!"

Recalling memories are important, but there's no way to tell what apparitions in this dreamscape were harmless recollections and which meant to permanently end their journey into Kit's past. Her persona moves in response to the charge in her veins, lurching forward towards the pair of them to forcefully shove the interloper away, multitude of hands already charged with Light energy.

Nothing should come that close. Not here.

"Wait!"

Even as Emily is moving towards them, Kit is turning to face the shadow at his back. But it's fast, there and then gone again in an instant, leaving only a hazy afterimage in its wake. It appears again as he whips back around to face his companion, this time at her side, and then promptly vanishes into the air, a cloak of black wrapping around it so dense it hides seamlessly in the darkness...

He knows that creature, though. Its shape is familiar to him. He's seen it once before, through the blinding and painful aura of a headache that had ushered in the memory. They'd stood face-to-face in an arena with thousands, maybe tens of thousands of spectators all around and screaming for blood. And that man had marked him, promising a painful demise with just one word and a finger to his head.

Bang.

"I recognize him..." Kit's eyes turn skyward. "...he is a demon, like myself."

He knows it's true, but even so it feels strange to admit. Is the being that Emily summons a creature whose nature is on par with his own? There isn't any time to contemplate the answer, much as he'd like. Maddening laughter echoes from above, and with it a bright light begins to swell...downwards and towards them.

Kit doesn't think. Only moves. Using his own body to shield the young woman who somehow found her way into this nightmare to help him...

A demon, hm? It would certainly explain the other being's rapid movement and ability to seemingly melt into the inky backdrop of the dream world. She hadn't even sense it when it had appeared at her side with no time to react before vanishing once more. He'd caught her off guard, but she bets that if she focuses all her energy on scanning for his presence...

Reimi never does get to find out if her hunch would have been correct. The other demon decides to go on the offensive, raining light down upon them from above; while she doesn't know the nature of it, she can't imagine anything good will come of getting caught. Whatever she'd meant to say dies on her lips as Kit crashes into her, transforming instead into an impassioned -

"Don't!"

How could he forget what she'd told him only minutes before? He wasn't ready to take a more active role in this world. There's no time for her to reposition him, not with that determined grip, and so she calls on her persona to do the next best thing. Orias, faster than a mere human, moves to block them both, shooting a bolt of her own up into the oncoming attack. It's meant to halve the power of the enemy, but she supposes they won't know if it's worked until the light hits them.

Kit hadn't forgotten her warning, he'd simply deemed it worth ignoring in the face of such imminent danger. His decision to act was bolstered further by another brief flash of memory, a glimpse into the true destructive power of the blast the other demon had unleashed.

He had no regrets. Even as his ears were filled with Emily's terrified protest, he felt he had taken the right course of action. He could never forgive himself if he'd allowed harm to come to her after she had come to his rescue twice. He was a demon and a thief...but he was not without honor.

They were fortunate, however. By some miracle, the evil that was stalking them through his dreamscape was weaker than the real thing. As Kit shielded Emily with his body and the demon's reign of fire descended...her storm of light cut through the blinding glare, through the shadows, and pierced the heart of the monster above. He died silently, the way he had back then when it had been his own powers that had stopped that creature's heart...

...by sucking the blood straight out of it.

Releasing his companion, Kit sat back with his knees drawn to his chest, and both arms draped atop them. This was all so much to take in. His head was swimming with revelations. He was a demon. He had a human mother who loved him. A friend who'd been willing to halve his own life to spare his. And enemies who had brought him to the brink of death...whom he'd killed instead.

He took a slow, steadying breath and when turned his gaze in Emily's direction he was smiling.

"That power..." No, that wasn't right. It was a part of her, as much as this dream was a part of him. Her ability wasn't deserving of praise, she was. "You're really quite amazing."

A long breath escapes from Reimi as her spell finds its mark, although whether from exhaustion or relief she can't quite say. Either way she's more than happy to bring the conversation down to her companion's level and take a seat on the ground herself, pulling her legs neatly underneath her. This was a dream, true, but it was using up a great deal of mental energy all the same.

She gladly gives Kit as much time to himself as he needs, both for his sake and her own. Even as part of her mind continues to reach out into the world to check for enemies, it's enough of a rest to be exceedingly welcome. When he finally deems himself ready to speak again, his smile is met with a small one of her own.

"Thanks, but that's not really true. You've got the same potential locked up inside you."

Every awakened person in Eddan was more than capable of accomplishing the things she was doing now. It didn't make her worthy of praise or admiration - just a little further along in her development than Kit.

She didn't understand, but that was alright. Not everyone knew what it took to make the kind of decisions she had made in the heat of battle. Not everyone could. Some hearts were too fragile, some minds too soft.

But Kit didn't doubt his own potential. He'd lived with the monster inside of him his whole life. Glimpsing the youko earlier hadn't been frightening...it had been a relief.

To finally come face-to-face with what he was, with what he'd known lurked beneath the surface all along...he wanted to know more. To do that again. To unlock everything.

"How do I unlock it?"

He had a feeling it wasn't something that could be picked the way he was used to. Unless this exercise of dream diving was, in a sense, another form of lock picking?

For a moment she remains silent, expression stilling as she contemplates whether to divulge that truth now or not. It wasn't that she doubted he could handle it, just...could it be done without the presence of shadows? Or, if it couldn't, might they bait it out by seeking those creatures themselves? It would be cruel to give him false hope and then leave him to stew in only partial knowledge of himself.

But there was no way to know without trying, right? Reimi was prepared to give all she had for her companion, and she knows that Kit would do the same to finally see the truth. So she nods to herself before leaning forward on her knees, a hand stretching out until it gently comes to rest on the left side of his chest.

"You have to tear out your heart."

At first, when Emily pressed her hand over his chest, Kit said nothing.

Her instructions were clear, leaving no room for misinterpretation. What else could those four words mean? Tear out your heart. He believed them. His heart believed them, too. With a gentle thrum from beneath the cage of his ribs, Kit knew it understood as well as he did.

But if he ripped out his heart, wouldn't he die?

Gently, his hand falling atop Emily's, fingers curling such that they held her hand before pushing it gingerly away from him, Kit laughed.

"Is that all?"

He wasn't afraid. Death stood before him, and he had the chance to cheat it. If his memories served him...he'd been reborn once already. Twice, if he counted the life he led now. He had a devil's luck.

The rewards would be his.

She smiles a little when he cradles her hand before shooing it away, the expression faintly wan thanks to the precautionary worry still in her eyes. It wasn't terribly uncommon to be able to face down death bravely, but awakening was so much more than just loss of life. She couldn't let him proceed in good faith until she was certain he completely understood.

"It'll kill you," Reimi begins, settling her hands back into the lap but refusing to lean away. "The person you are right now - that won't ever come back."

That was the price every demon demanded for its use. Not only to permanently discard the skin they'd been walking around in, but to face that loss every single day as they pretended such a bargain had never been struck. There was more to be gained from such pain than just power, however, as she herself knew well.

"Who you'll become after, though...that's the real you."

Such was the conundrum all unawakened faced. Murder themselves for the chance at embracing both truth and pain, or let go of the mystery forever in order to preserve their own psyche. It wasn't a choice anyone but Kit could make.

With a sigh, Kit pushed himself back to his feet.

"If what you say is true, then it won't matter if it kills the person I am now. He was never meant to exist in the first place." But that is just one perspective, and Kit is well aware of it. In fact, the eye-opening memory of Shiori Minamino has made him consider what the death of Kit Florentine would mean to the family he has come to know in this life.

They were still very new to each other, but that woman and her husband, they were both very loving people, weren't they? They had invited him to stay with them, but he had insisted upon taking up residence at the school and they hadn't even thought to object. Because it had been what he'd wanted. They had provided him with the opportunity to attend the Leviathan Habitat's overnight event, too. They did not judge him for his past, but encouraged the potential they knew he possessed. And promised that their door would always be open.

Could he walk a path leading to his own demise knowing that he would be stealing from them someone they...might not actually despise?

It seemed like it was a choice he didn't need to make tonight at the very least. Perhaps he had time to say goodbye.

"How much time do I have?"

He didn't expect her to know for certain, but even an estimate would be better than nothing at all. Were there people besides that woman and her husband that he would want to see one last time with these eyes? Before the belonged to another? It's a strange thing to find that there are actually names that come to mind when all this time he'd thought he'd built a fortress around himself.

Reimi follows suit soon after, smoothing down the edges of her dress simply to give herself more time to mull over the question. In some ways she's glad that he doesn't want to try it now - not for lack of commitment on her part, but because it means that he's taking the weight of all this seriously. He deserved to have the gift of foresight that had been denied to those who had awakened alongside herself.

"I don't know," she responds candidly, meeting his gaze evenly. "The last time there was a counter, but I haven't seen anything like that yet. If it's similar to what happened to me...maybe a few weeks."

Time enough to get his affairs in order, but still a startlingly brief lifespan to be saddled with. It was a false life they were discarding, yes...but those facades had still been people in their own right. Putting them into their graves was a heartbreaking thing to be forced to do.

A few weeks wasn't much time at all. Some people concentrated years into planning their final moments on the earth, dividing up their belongings and preparing heartfelt goodbyes in the form of letters or video dispositions their loved ones could review when they were gone. Perhaps, if his death meant that he would leave this world altogether and not remain as some parasite retaining the use of its host's body, it would be easier.

He wouldn't be forced to continue living a life that didn't belong to him, lying to the people who were important to 'Kit Florentine,' few and far between as they were. He wouldn't need to keep up a charade or worry how long it would be before the lies would sneak around his neck like vines and strangle him.

There would be no worries at all because he would be...nothing.

Instead, he must decide quickly what is most important to him and how to proceed following the pseudo death of himself, and the revival of the one called 'Kurama.' It would be unwise to try and tell his family anything. Such would worry them unnecessarily, and many of his peers simply wouldn't understand. He'd made no secret of his interest in occult things. Perhaps they would even think he lost his mind?

And then where might he end up? Another institution like the detention center?

With a sigh, Kit's hands found his pockets.

"It will have to suffice," he answered, because he knew that he had no choice. In this game, ignorance was't an option. Not if he wanted to win. "I'll be ready then."

"It's alright if you aren't," she says softly. "We'll be here for you the whole time."

It was one of the few things that kept Reimi from completely collapsing when she'd realized that the pain of death would be revisiting her every night for the foreseeable future. Knowing that there were people relying on her, that for once she had the power to protect that which she loved best, was enough of a support net to spur her into pushing through the horror with a familiar stubbornness.

Not everyone would take that help, she knows. Pride and fear stymied so many, especially while they were in the throes of inescapable change. But the offer still stood - and would do so even if it was denied. There was only so much respect she could offer when she knows she's capable of helping.

NO DICKS ONLY GLORY

your kars boner is showing

but the pillarmen so cool and all the heroes are so lame

ngl they really were the best part about battle tendency

i wish they'd won...

i think a lot of people do

then where's my "pillar men take a poorly-timed vacation to Morioh" chapter of DIU, Araki?????

kira drops everything to pursue kars' hands

he gets his face ripped off when it turns into a squirrel and the pillarmen enjoy a local delicacy

but that would mean stealing reimi's thunder

no it means freeing reimi of her attachment so she can go on ghost dates with okuyasu

they deserved more time together :c

they deserved ANY time together ;A;

we were cheated out of that good stuff

araki continues to just twist the knife in real deep

he's gotten really good at that over the years

i guess it's what keeps him so youthful :c

so that was his secret all along

and we just thought it was the stone mask

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