( like nothing ever happened, hm? well, two can play at that game- it's rather the default for aoi, these days. as if nothing happened this night, she links her arm with his once more. )
Mmm. Not sure. Ranran usually makes stuff, but I can probably make sammiches at least. Azusa is gonna let me join in her bakery, so! I'll be learning to cook from her, at least. I'm gonna make all the BEST foods.
[he has to resist the urge to instinctively tug his arms to his chest. he's used to that gesture when he's trying to seem hyped up, but right now he's taking it easy.
deceptively so, since there's that air hanging over this whole conversation...]
Oh, how nice. I was pretty good at making cookies... I'm not sure I'll be able to decorate them as well now, though.
( it's not the first charged conversation she's had as of late- but given that she didn't just try to impale kokichi or something similar, it's also... not.
it's just talking about doing that to akane that's going to suck. )
Well, that-- is up to you. It'd hardly be interesting if I just spilled my guts just like that. So. I'll make us sandwiches. We can dooooo....a question for a question. Little sharing sesh. Sound fun?
[ Kuja exists in two potential states right now.. if they figure out the puff of friendly smoke is really Ala, he is preoccupied trying to figure out how to help her be a girl again, and is haggard and tired because of pushing on that ceaselessly like Sisyphus with the rock. He suddenly thinks of Aoi, and has a vague, half-baked idea that if he figures out what's the DEAL with this girl, he might have an idea for helping Ala. He isn't as well reasoned or clear-headed in his approach; he hasn't figured out she's a for-real physical soul with damaged bits, just that there's some something to her that feels like a pertinent mystery. He's grasping at straws, and she looks like a promising one.
If they don't figure out its Ala, he's restless, but paradoxically less exhausted because he recognizes he won't be at his best to figure out how to look for her. He'll follow his usual strategy for tough cases -- work on it, then shift his attention briefly to other pursuits to refresh his brain. Aoi, in this case, is other pursuits. Today, he woke up, made his morning tea using some absolute garbage tea bags he scrounged from around town, and abruptly fumbled his poor teacup when he realized being around Aoi felt like being right beside a disembodied soul???
Anyway, he's hunting her down now. He doesn't know where Aoi lives, but he has heard her talk plenty about her interest in gardening at the last town hall, and because he can see the world from up above, it should be easy to find where her burgeoning greenery ought to be growing, right? ]
( aoi is, at the very least, easy to spot- a splash of blue amongst autumnal tones and slowly dying grass preparing for winter. she received some seeds of some sort from the coffin and while it's much too cold to plant them, it doesn't hurt to plan ahead. so while kuja has his epiphany- or desperation- she's happily oblivious to settle into a new sense of normalcy. )
[ He doesn't find a proper garden, per se, and it occurs to him mid-hunt that he had seen her stumbling her way into this world barely over a week ago. Most plants, uh, don't really much show sky-high signs of progress after single digit days.
But what he does find is Aoi surveying the withering grass, looking very contemplative and overall distracted.
A shadow passes by, and then comes a more obvious sign of Kuja's presence -- crunching leaves, as he touches down nearby. ]
Miss Aoi Akane. There's a puzzle you can help me solve.
( when she hears the crunch of leaves and dry grass, she had expected another to quickly follow- as footsteps tend to do! so when there are none but there is a voice, aoi jumps-
it takes all her effort to not whirl around eyes wide but it's managed! somehow!! she does turn a bit more slowly, still surprised.
oh.
it's kuja. )
I... suppose? I'll do my best, certainly. What is it?
[ on a clear look at him... Kuja's not as bright-eyed and bushy tailed as usual (speaking of which, it's curled at the end around his ankle, a bit of cross-species body language that's difficult to discern). as he starts with the typical amount of running his mouth, it even comes through in his sing-song voice - the wavy little stresses sound sleepy, slow, and sibilant, rather than his previous... twittering. ]
Since our last meeting, I happened to have.. let's call it an epiphany. About you. Those wounds on your limbs... I think I know why they're not healing. Do you?
I... I couldn't say for sure. My only lead is that it has to do with the source- but given that I'm here and not there, I wouldn't be able to find out more than that at the moment.
( the source being that she quite literally brushed against the world collapsing in on itself- something that she made no secret of at the meeting, once she figured out the wording. )
The source... [ he presses a hand to one of his temples for a while, recalling the particulars of what he'd overheard-- or trying to squeeze away a headache. maybe both. ] ...that's right. The world, crumbling before you. It sounds like a terrifying experience.
[ with the nature of what she was.. he accepts right away that wasn't just a metaphor of something being utterly destroyed in any mundane way. she could have been erased, with no body to protect her. ]
I would also venture it has something to do with your... state of being.
[ either she confirms what he expects, tries to lie and confirms what he expects, or he's about to deliver some... Big news. ]
( aoi nods quietly, because it was terrifying. one accident left her in pieces, and even now she jumps at the darkest of shadows because it's so familiar.
and then she freezes, looking up at kuja slowly, eyes wide. )
... What do you mean, exactly...?
( she hadn't really hidden that she was involved in something bad- she outright called the outfit she'd arrived in sacrificial robes- but she hadn't confirmed her death publicly. did he mean something else...? )
Well then. Who do you believe the subjects to be, [Matoba finally breaks the uncomfortable silence milling between them, and his easy smile is no more changed than it was before the notebook was read out to them.] Us? Or the residents of this village?
I think that it could be both. The previous residents also had gems, I believe. "Separation"... that sounds like something that could refer to them, don't you think? And one stood out to me in particular... "Endured the separation, but was damaged in the process", I believe?
( she has a point to this! and it's a point she makes clear when she digs into a hidden pocket and procures her own gem: flower-shaped, lovely, and missing two petals.
[Were the gems merely a byproduct of being in this space? But that then implied that whatever had caused the gems and whatever had caused the village to be abandoned were two different things, didn't it?]
[Aoi has a point about the separation. Matoba's eye draws back down as she procures her own gem- and this time, the way his expression stills is quite noticeable. When he had first sensed her approach, he had been set on guard, unsure of what to make- on one hand, he thought it could be explained by that bracelet she held, but it was not quite right.]
[His other theory had been....] ...My, just what have you been doing with that soul of yours, young lady?
[Perhaps he had been on target the first time.] Or perhaps it is more accurate to say, what might someone have done?
( not unlike a child, aoi flinches at the question- like a kid who fell in the mud in a new, fancy outfit. but before she can even offer an answer, matoba supplies one of his own. but then... what happened to the gem was a good question, wasn't it? she didn't remember what happened, and yet it's part of her now.
calm down, aoi. you've seen far scarier than just a man by now. with a slow exhale, she recomposes herself and slips the gem back into it's hiding spot. )
That's the question of the hour, isn't it? And I'm sure those who've been here longer can find their own situations they recognize, too. ... If we're "subjects", this could be one of the most blatant signs about what's happening here.
The question then becomes, what is the aim of the experiments?
[Matoba hums quietly and stares down at the pages again. Buried. Revived. Rejected. Souls being separated from living bodies, to what end?] ...Are we sacrifices, to use as power towards some spell? Perhaps they wish to attach our souls to some other vessel?
Another individual in this village has some abilities similar to mine but more practically dealing with the dead. He seemed certain that we are not among them. However, it is possible that there may be some other factor at play which is masking the true nature of our current... state of being.
[And besides that, Matoba wasn't so sure himself that it was that simple. Even if they were not strictly 'dead' (of which he was sure), it didn't mean they were in a state of fully living, either. Ayakashi spaces, outside the realm of the living, were a strange limbo.]
I think that depends on the nature of the scientists, don't you? Given that there's multiple nonhuman people here, to assume they are human would be silly, I think.
( she... hopes it's not a sacrifice. she's already done that song and dance and it sucks! it sucks a lot! frowning, aoi raises a knuckle to her lip and hums thoughtfully. )
I wouldn't be surprised if our senses are being messed with- or rather, if our status doesn't quite matter here. ... There's a lot of factors at play and I think we haven't even scratched the surface.
Yes, that is part of my hesitation. If removing souls from a body is the aim, there are a few individuals here in which I don't believe it would be any help to study them. You could reimplement them quite easily, you see.
[Don't read into that too much. Anyway, Aoi's suggestion is always possible... Matoba can't help but think that they could surmise in circles, but they are going to need more context in order to understand.]
[More importantly,]
If this strange village is part of an experiment of some sort, it follows that someone must be responsible, yes? ... I think that it would be prudent not to stir up any sort of paranoia at this time. [If you catch his drift, Aoi.]
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post-meeting
It's late. So. How about we start heading home, mmm?
I gotchu with me.
[He says, calmly and almost cheerfully. He's back to that mask. Like nothing ever happened.]
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Of course.
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[He gets to his feet, making sure she stays steady, and starts heading out.]
Guess Ranran will catch up with us later. Everything else go okay for you at the meeting?
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it's cold here. but her lungs take in the cold with a sting and it makes her feel alive. )
Alright. What will we be doing for lunch?
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[he has to resist the urge to instinctively tug his arms to his chest. he's used to that gesture when he's trying to seem hyped up, but right now he's taking it easy.
deceptively so, since there's that air hanging over this whole conversation...]
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( it's not the first charged conversation she's had as of late- but given that she didn't just try to impale kokichi or something similar, it's also... not.
it's just talking about doing that to akane that's going to suck. )
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[Of course...]
...Or about anything, I guess.
[alright, he'll be the one to let onto it.]
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( and she'd like to cross the threshold of their home at least, first, anyways. )
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cw: impalement mention
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(cw: terrorism mention)
Re: (cw: terrorism mention)
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as promised. i'll try to play it vague enough EITHER option remains canon!
If they don't figure out its Ala, he's restless, but paradoxically less exhausted because he recognizes he won't be at his best to figure out how to look for her. He'll follow his usual strategy for tough cases -- work on it, then shift his attention briefly to other pursuits to refresh his brain. Aoi, in this case, is other pursuits. Today, he woke up, made his morning tea using some absolute garbage tea bags he scrounged from around town, and abruptly fumbled his poor teacup when he realized being around Aoi felt like being right beside a disembodied soul???
Anyway, he's hunting her down now. He doesn't know where Aoi lives, but he has heard her talk plenty about her interest in gardening at the last town hall, and because he can see the world from up above, it should be easy to find where her burgeoning greenery ought to be growing, right? ]
\o/
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But what he does find is Aoi surveying the withering grass, looking very contemplative and overall distracted.
A shadow passes by, and then comes a more obvious sign of Kuja's presence -- crunching leaves, as he touches down nearby. ]
Miss Aoi Akane. There's a puzzle you can help me solve.
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it takes all her effort to not whirl around eyes wide but it's managed! somehow!! she does turn a bit more slowly, still surprised.
oh.
it's kuja. )
I... suppose? I'll do my best, certainly. What is it?
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[ on a clear look at him... Kuja's not as bright-eyed and bushy tailed as usual (speaking of which, it's curled at the end around his ankle, a bit of cross-species body language that's difficult to discern). as he starts with the typical amount of running his mouth, it even comes through in his sing-song voice - the wavy little stresses sound sleepy, slow, and sibilant, rather than his previous... twittering. ]
Since our last meeting, I happened to have.. let's call it an epiphany. About you. Those wounds on your limbs... I think I know why they're not healing. Do you?
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( the source being that she quite literally brushed against the world collapsing in on itself- something that she made no secret of at the meeting, once she figured out the wording. )
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[ with the nature of what she was.. he accepts right away that wasn't just a metaphor of something being utterly destroyed in any mundane way. she could have been erased, with no body to protect her. ]
I would also venture it has something to do with your... state of being.
[ either she confirms what he expects, tries to lie and confirms what he expects, or he's about to deliver some... Big news. ]
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and then she freezes, looking up at kuja slowly, eyes wide. )
... What do you mean, exactly...?
( she hadn't really hidden that she was involved in something bad- she outright called the outfit she'd arrived in sacrificial robes- but she hadn't confirmed her death publicly. did he mean something else...? )
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Kuja making a stellar and wrong conclusion Abt other worlds once again
cries i thought i did this already im sorry
<3 NP HAPPENS TO ME ALL THE TIME
action; post-notebook investigation!
Well then. Who do you believe the subjects to be, [Matoba finally breaks the uncomfortable silence milling between them, and his easy smile is no more changed than it was before the notebook was read out to them.] Us? Or the residents of this village?
YELLS i am so sorry this is late
I think that it could be both. The previous residents also had gems, I believe. "Separation"... that sounds like something that could refer to them, don't you think? And one stood out to me in particular... "Endured the separation, but was damaged in the process", I believe?
( she has a point to this! and it's a point she makes clear when she digs into a hidden pocket and procures her own gem: flower-shaped, lovely, and missing two petals.
damaged doesn't begin to cover it. )
nw!
[Were the gems merely a byproduct of being in this space? But that then implied that whatever had caused the gems and whatever had caused the village to be abandoned were two different things, didn't it?]
[Aoi has a point about the separation. Matoba's eye draws back down as she procures her own gem- and this time, the way his expression stills is quite noticeable. When he had first sensed her approach, he had been set on guard, unsure of what to make- on one hand, he thought it could be explained by that bracelet she held, but it was not quite right.]
[His other theory had been....] ...My, just what have you been doing with that soul of yours, young lady?
[Perhaps he had been on target the first time.] Or perhaps it is more accurate to say, what might someone have done?
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calm down, aoi. you've seen far scarier than just a man by now. with a slow exhale, she recomposes herself and slips the gem back into it's hiding spot. )
That's the question of the hour, isn't it? And I'm sure those who've been here longer can find their own situations they recognize, too. ... If we're "subjects", this could be one of the most blatant signs about what's happening here.
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[Matoba hums quietly and stares down at the pages again. Buried. Revived. Rejected. Souls being separated from living bodies, to what end?] ...Are we sacrifices, to use as power towards some spell? Perhaps they wish to attach our souls to some other vessel?
Another individual in this village has some abilities similar to mine but more practically dealing with the dead. He seemed certain that we are not among them. However, it is possible that there may be some other factor at play which is masking the true nature of our current... state of being.
[And besides that, Matoba wasn't so sure himself that it was that simple. Even if they were not strictly 'dead' (of which he was sure), it didn't mean they were in a state of fully living, either. Ayakashi spaces, outside the realm of the living, were a strange limbo.]
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( she... hopes it's not a sacrifice. she's already done that song and dance and it sucks! it sucks a lot! frowning, aoi raises a knuckle to her lip and hums thoughtfully. )
I wouldn't be surprised if our senses are being messed with- or rather, if our status doesn't quite matter here. ... There's a lot of factors at play and I think we haven't even scratched the surface.
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[Don't read into that too much. Anyway, Aoi's suggestion is always possible... Matoba can't help but think that they could surmise in circles, but they are going to need more context in order to understand.]
[More importantly,]
If this strange village is part of an experiment of some sort, it follows that someone must be responsible, yes? ... I think that it would be prudent not to stir up any sort of paranoia at this time. [If you catch his drift, Aoi.]
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... I'm not sure I can agree entirely. It- this is the first thing I've seen that even hints as to why we're here. It's something to look into.
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