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Entry tags:
[ closed ] another strange tale
⌛ Who: Izō and Kiriho
⌛ What: Making a contract + malevolent soul things
⌛ When: During the Heavenly Assignment
⌛ Where: Takamagahara
⌛ Warnings: Will probably touch on darker themes sooner or later
[ by now, the time had come and gone where everyone had to make a final decision whether to stay and help or to go back. while izō had been uncertain about things going into it, the brief exchange he'd had with inari had at least put to rest the worry he'd had that he'd somehow slid under the cosmic radar and eventually someone was going to figure out he didn't belong in takamagahara after all.
what needs to be done becomes clear after the first instances of strange behaviour and possessions appear. it's not a reassuring feeling. he's already uncertain about this, and if anyone were asking but a god, he'd have been first in line out of here. it's an unpleasant realisation, but izō knows he's only asking for trouble if something tries to take over his body as he is now; being a servant, he's much more difficult to kill than a human. or anything else that isn't made of magic. just having a bond to gaia offers no other protections or fail-safes, so he's going to have to take matters into his own hands. as it happens, izō has an extremely short list of people in this world he'd even consider. it's not like he expected any of this or that he would even need to consider making a contract.
the villa can be a confusing place, but izō is observant and an assassin-class servant besides. once he finds kiriho, following him back to his room is easy, and he's already prepared what else he knows he'd need in advance. there's no forewarning of his arrival for kiriho other than the knock at the door. if he's an unwelcome visitor? well, it's not like izō's thrilled about any of this either... ]
⌛ What: Making a contract + malevolent soul things
⌛ When: During the Heavenly Assignment
⌛ Where: Takamagahara
⌛ Warnings: Will probably touch on darker themes sooner or later
[ by now, the time had come and gone where everyone had to make a final decision whether to stay and help or to go back. while izō had been uncertain about things going into it, the brief exchange he'd had with inari had at least put to rest the worry he'd had that he'd somehow slid under the cosmic radar and eventually someone was going to figure out he didn't belong in takamagahara after all.
what needs to be done becomes clear after the first instances of strange behaviour and possessions appear. it's not a reassuring feeling. he's already uncertain about this, and if anyone were asking but a god, he'd have been first in line out of here. it's an unpleasant realisation, but izō knows he's only asking for trouble if something tries to take over his body as he is now; being a servant, he's much more difficult to kill than a human. or anything else that isn't made of magic. just having a bond to gaia offers no other protections or fail-safes, so he's going to have to take matters into his own hands. as it happens, izō has an extremely short list of people in this world he'd even consider. it's not like he expected any of this or that he would even need to consider making a contract.
the villa can be a confusing place, but izō is observant and an assassin-class servant besides. once he finds kiriho, following him back to his room is easy, and he's already prepared what else he knows he'd need in advance. there's no forewarning of his arrival for kiriho other than the knock at the door. if he's an unwelcome visitor? well, it's not like izō's thrilled about any of this either... ]
no subject
The knock at a door is still a practice which baffles Kiriho. There is no such thing, living in tents. Somehow banging knuckles on wood seems so backwards and brutish. The sound makes him jump, and he tips over the bowl of his rabbit-bones. They bounce and it messes up his Wheel, and Kiriho mutters a curse.]
Who is it.
[And under his breath, he mutters as he begins picking up the aged rabbit oracle bones, putting them carefully back into their bowl:]
Why don't any of these people ever just damn say who they are instead of banging on things? They know the question is coming sooner or later, so why?!
no subject
[ as one might expect, a servant's senses also exceed that of the average human, and there's really not much door between them. that should also answer the question of who it is who's come calling and if not..? well, in traditional fashion, the doors here don't exactly lock — which kiriho should also be accustomed to as someone who used to live in a tent — so izō takes it upon himself to slide the door open and step inside. there's a moment or two where he eyes the bowl of seemingly random objects, and he hopes he isn't making a horrible mistake. ]
Shut up an' listen for a sec'.
[ off to a great start. izō slides the door closed again because this isn't a conversation he's willing to have with an open hallway behind him. ]
If yer still here, then ya probably already heard what's been happenin' when people do this bond shit with those spirits. Maybe that ain't a problem for some people, but it'll sure fuckin' become everyone's problem if it happens to me.
[ his normally boastful tendencies could totally spin that into a flex, but nothing he's saying is untrue or an exaggeration. ]
Seriously wouldn't be here if I had any other option. [ nothing personal; he just generally doesn't like having to rely on people. ] But since I don't—...
[ he shrugs. it's meant to seem flippant and casual, but if anything, it only makes it easier to notice the tension he's carrying right now. ]
I hate fuckin' havin' to do this. Really thought I was gonna be spared the trouble. Tch. Anyway, none of it'll matter if ya aren't willin' to make a contract with me.
[ there's a long pause now that he's finished and he's sure there will be questions to follow since the only thing izō probably accomplished in this so far is sounding really suspicious. ]
Oh. And ya can talk now.
no subject
[This isn't delivered with any ill will, nor any detectable happiness either. Kiriho says it as if just musing on it, or confirming information he already had. It might be the most positive reaction he's given anyone yet.]
Just say who it is, you don't have to hit wood things to get my attention. I don't have your walking sound memorized yet. It weird to hear people walking on wood. All the... creaking. It's-- [He gestures with his hand in a circle, as if straining what he wants to say out of the air.] unnatural.
Look. Whatever is wrong, I'll do what I can. Come sit down.
I had a feeling something was coming, so, I was getting ready.
[He gestures across the array of items, with his sleeve and open hand. There is a thin cushion there, made from Kiriho's own robes folded into a stack.]
Here, hold this.
[Kiriho gives Izō the hawk's feather. He leans back and looks at the other man, thinking hard. His fingers go to rub his chin, out of habit.]
I need to know more. But, first, I will say-- I get it. You hardly know me and you have no idea if I'd as soon stab you in the back as help. So, I want to tell you that you're showing courage, coming to a person to try to handle it. I respect that.
The second thing is, your worry is a good sign. It means you're responsible and that whatever power you have... you are going to use it well. You don't want it to get misused. That says a lot about your character. You're not blindly after power if it means you lose your freedom to choose.
So, based on those observations. I'm listening. What will happen if someone tries to possess you? Don't leave any shit out. I want to know the risk involved. If I find out later that you, oops, didn't tell me you're actually a destroyer god shaped like a sea monster with eyes all over you and like, a hundred assholes, I'm going to be pissed.
no subject
Getting ready... on just a feeling?
[ izō lets out a long sigh as he settles down on the makeshift cushion. sounds like caster shit, meaning it's probably going to be confusing at best and complete nonsense at worst. now he's holding a feather and he can't imagine why but kiriho continues before izō can cut in and demand an explanation.
it's a lot. ]
Where the hell are ya gettin' all that anyway? You dunno what yer talkin' about. Ain't gotta go outta yer way to say somethin' nice either...
[ responsible? showing courage? this is the second time in as many days that someone's commented favourably about his character but he's nowhere closer to actually believing any of it. it's far too easy to assume people are just telling him things they think he might like to hear to get on his good side. still, he could've taken offence to it and gotten angry, so his being dismissive and slightly awkward isn't a terrible sign. ]
Not that complicated, really. What y'see is more or less what ya get. Just the two eyes and the one asshole. [ in spite of everything else, he did not fail to catch that line. ] It's like I said — it becomes a problem if it happens. Servants can take a hell of a lot more punishment than a human can, but that assumes ya could find me in the first place. Easier to kill when people can't see it comin'. Risks where yer concerned? Not much, as long as ya don't abuse yer position. If you do, then I'd kill ya the first chance I got. But that's just me sayin' so upfront like you asked.
no subject
Yeah. I come from a long line of seers that served my tribe's kings and queens as we traveled the world. So, I wouldn't say it's "just" a feeling. Sometimes I get intuition that something is about to happen. Sometimes I see events that are possibilities.
Most of the time it has... a flavour to it, I guess you could say. Maybe a flavour of change, or of something new beginning. Connection. I felt that someone was coming, it was important, and that I needed to help.
I'm getting that by analysing you. But also from those intuitions.
[Kiriho pauses, observing his array and then Izō. Not staring, just listening and thinking.]
It bothers you? What I said.
[He takes out a small seashell from a pouch on the floor to his right. It's from some sort of sea snail or conch-like creature, but it is only about two inches in size. The outside is gray and rocky looking on the outside and the inside is a brilliant peach and rose pink, with slight iridescence.
He puts this in Izō's other hand and listens carefully to the rest of his words, taking them seriously.]
This doesn't sound like a problem. I can handle one asshole. I know what to do with that.
I suppose my word doesn't count for much, but, if I was abusing my power, making you do something you didn't want to do, I would want you to kill me. Right away.
Does having a Servant, like you, change a person? Do anything to them?
no subject
[ he seems somewhat less irritated by the seashell even though he still has no idea why he's holding it or what it could possibly mean to kiriho. if anything, he's vaguely curious. izō might have grown up right near the sea but that didn't mean he knew anything at all about the things that lived in it other than what the fisherman would catch. it's safe to say he's never seen a shell like it before.
he glances up from looking at it when kiriho speaks again, once again quietly amused by the commentary. he had to wonder if they had the same meaning or if kiriho was the sort to accidentally stumble into double entendres. ]
Yeah? I wonder.
Ya ain't gonna grow another head or somethin'. Ordinarily, it'd be a drain on yer mana or yer magical reserves or whatever ya wanna call it, but I get enough jus' being bound to Nippon itself that it won't matter.
[ all in all, a pretty risk-free endeavour. although something manages to diminish the humour in his expression. ]
There is one thing. Nothin' much for it either. Shit like thoughts or feelings for the most part stays on their own side of things, but for whatever reason, it ain't the same for dreams. So if ya got some wild shit goin' on in there, a little heads up might be nice.
no subject
I kind of... got by, up till now, by analysing. I had to read every cluesnd take a guess at what to expect in order to survive. I can try not to analyze you. I just... I dunno how not to. Can you... teach me what that's like? Over time.
But for what it's worth, I'm not telling you what I think you want to hear. Izō, you probably want to hear that I'll do your pledge and it'll be no problem. But, that kind of responsibility is a big deal. In my world, I was sworn not to have a bond with anyone but my queen. So... I'm pausing to think, first. I know what she would tell me to do, but I just want to be sure that you're going to be safe.
Is this just for the present? What happens if one of us dies? If you are sent back to your world or I to mine, then what? I don't want you to get pulled there along with me. It's nothing like this. It's dirty and brutal. No "swords" like those magical ones you have. You'd get really tired of how much horse crap we have around. Not to mention snakes... people who want to torture us...
[He gives a nervous smile and scratches the back of his head, embarrassed as he thinks about all of the differences between here and home. Surely he'd be laughed at if these people knew... everything here is so complicated and made for convenience.]
I dream the really wild shit when I'm doing seeing. During the day. At night, I dream about... home. About the people. Or what I'm not there to do now. Or, fears. I guess.
[Now he shifts a bit, wrapping his arms around his middle. He pinches his lips together between his teeth. Is it making him uncomfortable that he might see some of Izo's private world? Or, he wonders, is it making him more uncomfortable that Izō might see his?
It's the latter, he decides quickly. There is a sort of tenderness to his own dreams, and he doesn't want anyone else to know how they feel-- and at the same time, he wishes everybody knew. It's always pure. It's the only intimacy he really has with anyone or anything.
He scowls at his array, worried.]
What if, you decide you don't like it? Having a deal with me. Are you stuck?
no subject
[ izō is fairly certain that the only reason kiriho uses his name — that is, as informally as he does — is because of the cultural differences. as someone who hardly observes etiquette himself, it shouldn't even matter. still, it reminds him of something he really would prefer not to think about right now when he needs to be focused and not let emotions creep in any more than usual. ]
I didn't really explain this very well, did I?
[ considering he'd just... jumped directly to the offer, maybe to try and see if he could avoid having to limp his way through explanations of magic and ritual that exist in his mind even though his actual understanding of any of it is minimal at best. ]
There's a thing in my world called the Holy Grail. It's real powerful magic. Get yer hands on one, and it'll grant any wish ya can think of. Which is good. 'Course, it'll grant 'em even if ya ask for somethin' impossible, which is bad. Then ya get what's called a Singularity, which is basically a place where time and the laws of the universe are all fucked up. As far as I understand it, ya get too many of these Singularity things, and reality itself'll end up destroyed. Where I come from, there's a place called Chaldea whose job it is to go in, figure out what's goin' on, and fix it. Chaldea only has one Master, so they got a weird way of summonin' Servants too. Don't worry about that.
[ he seems to have only mentioned it to provide a contrast. ]
Most of the time, what ya get are Grail Wars. I guess maybe the mage types who invented the whole thing thought it was a fair way of decidin' who gets it, I dunno. It's a whole big thing. Seven Masters summon seven Servants — one of each class — and winner takes all. Servants fight and kill other Servants like you'd expect, but it's dangerous for the Masters themselves too. Ain't no rules that say it's illegal to ignore the Servants and jus' pick off the Masters themselves one at a time. Pretty common strategy for an Assassin. Point is, Servants die all the time, and it don't mean a thing for their Masters. Servants don't really "die" anyway. Worst that happens is ya get summoned again down the road, but ya ain't got any memories of what happened last time. A Servant's gotta make a new contract with another Master if the original one dies and they don't wanna disappear. That's about it.
A Servant's got no say in the matter. Once it's done, if ya used one of those Seals to order me to kill myself, I couldn't disobey that order. That's jus' how it is. Only a Master can break the contract. [ he shrugs because he's already accepted that. ] Doubt either one of us would follow the other if one of us ended up disappearin' back home. And anyway, I come from a dirty and brutal place...
[ he trails off then, almost like he'd run out of breath to keep speaking, but it's more hesitation than anything else as he knows continuing means touching on something that isn't just him stating facts. ]
... I've always served somebody, even before. Had the good and the bad. People who didn't care about who's under 'em because yer expected to die for a cause. No one ever asked this many fuckin' questions. [ it's clear from his tone and expression that that's not a complaint for once. ] Don't usually say this much unless I been drinkin'. Anyway, that's at least enough to tell me yer probably one of the better ones. Plus, it ain't all one-sided; ya get my blade in return.
no subject
[He nods at the shell and the feather in Izō's hands. He thinks he's made good choices there.]
Being in this Servant role sounds fucking depressing, I'd hate that, and I'm sorry that's how it was. And yet... I say that and, it kind of sounds a little bit like what I do. But... on a grander scale.
[He goes quiet,thinking for a long time with his lips pressed together, jaw muscle tensing and relaxing. Idly he prods the rabbit fur with a finger, making the hair part to create a hole and then smoothing it back down. An arrow to the heart would enter here, and skewer it. Here, for the liver.]
I wouldn't tell you to kill yourself. It's not my way.
I'll do it, but, if we make this agreement and it becomes a problem for you, or you change your mind, you have to agree to tell me. And, I don't really want a servant like... doing everything for me. I just want... someone who knows me. Proof of existence.
[That last was kind of mumbled. After a moment, he says in his regular volume:]
You can put those down. Here, and here. Whichever one you think is good in that spot.
[He points to the heart-point and the liver point.]
no subject
Grail Wars are hell but Chaldea's different, at least. There's somethin' like a hundred Servants there last I heard. No one gets un-summoned jus' 'cause there ain't much goin' on. I dunno... that feels like maybe what I can do is helpin'? And the vacations are free. I didn't even know a "vacation" was a thing to do, but I got one for free! Worst part's workin' with people ya can't stand...
[ he's not quite to the point where he can believe that he might be doing good, but it's getting there. ]
You ain't got a duty or somebody to serve here, so just do whatever ya want. Don't get me wrong, it's not some kinda worldly advice. Somebody told me I oughta do that before and once in a while, I remember. 'Course if I'd listened we probably wouldn't be havin' this conversation in the first place.
[ izō might've asked kiriho to repeat whatever it was he'd mumbled, but then he supposed it wasn't terribly important or kiriho would've made sure he'd heard it. and besides, he's been tasked with deciding where the two objects go which means he's overthinking it because he assumes it's some kind of test. ]
Tch. Doesn't fuckin' matter anyway!
[ after being paralysed by indecision briefly, he finally sets the shell down on the heart-point and puts the feather down over the liver-point with a frustrated huff. ]
If it's wrong it's 'cause ya never said what the answer was...
no subject
[Kiriho turns and gets a small pot of hot tea that has been steeping at his elbow. He pours a little cup for Izo and then one for himself, and passes the cup to Izo. There's no ceremony here, no fussiness about how the cup is held or offered or anything. None of those types of dictated rules for interactions exists, in his mind.
The tea is made with herbs he found at the market that he felt smell a bit like things he used at home: cinnamon and nutmeg. It's said to be soothing to someone with a fiery nature, like Kiriho. Somehow even though the drink is hot, it feels refreshing.]
I usually don't tell people what I see. Knowing certain things might change how they act. More likely, though, it's something I want to keep close to my chest and use it when I need it. Especially if it's someone I might need to maneuver around later on.
But... you're giving me a lot of trust, vulnerability, by asking me to make this pact with you. So I'll give you something in exchange that nobody else here has. If you want to know what I see, anytime. I'll tell you if you ask.
[Kiriho glances up, trying to play this really cool.]
That's sort of like... being my Master. Only my Queen ever had that right.
no subject
Y'know... when ya put it that way it sounds way less appealin'. Vulnerability in my line of work gets ya killed.
[ or worse, potentially. that's never been an issue for him personally but some people get to drinking and telling stories and sometimes he actually remembers them. still, for all his complaining he can't exactly back out now no matter what it sounds like because the alternative is pissing off literal gods because he's bad at not getting possessed. ]
Wouldn't do ya much good with me anyway. Ain't really one to maneuver, hehe. [ why plot when you've got swords you're not unwilling to use? ] But aight, ya got yer self a deal.
[ a pause ]
So then what's all this mean then..?
[ he nods towards the shell and the feather. he can admit that he's curious about this one. ]
Not t'diminish the whole impact of whatcha jus' said or anythin', it's jus'—... I dunno. That ain't how people are, usually.
[ now would be a great time to shut up, but the significance of being offered something reserved for royalty is still setting in. ]
I dunno. Like I said, that maneuverin' shit ain't for me. If I got a problem, I'll tell ya direct.
[ that's one way of saying he's trustworthy too, right? saying so directly would be too easy. ]
no subject
[Kiriho nods at Izō. His tone changes slightly, becoming slightly more grim.]
Vulnerable gets you killed, yeah. I know that better than most.
I'm trying to tell you that if you're trusting me to be your Master, I'll trust you to be mine. So you don't have to feel like the only one putting yourself at risk. Just... kinda even the score, make it fair. That way there's a balance of power between us.
[He'll explain the rabbit fur and shell and feather in a minute but this seems more important to hash out first.]