You'd both be dead if he was completely reckless like a normal person. Most people aren't going to react rationally to their hand getting eaten. What you consider a weakness of his is probably also his strength.
That does not matter. I would simply not allow us both to die, no matter his character traits.
( Is Nazuna insinuating that he should be grateful for Shinichi's personality? To Migi, that part doesn't really matter. If his host had been reckless and potentially dangerous to him, the alien would simply have forced him to behave via any means necessary.
The next part gives him pause. )
Are you experiencing anger towards me right now?
( If he were with Nazuna in person, he would more easily be able to tell by his tone, his facial expression, but text makes it much more difficult to read a person. )
( Migi doesn't necessarily have active animosity towards Nazuna, anymore. It's nothing like how it used to be, anyway. Now, he sees the boy as a human he can learn more Human Things directly from. He's also a means to make Migi's existence easier; having a human who knows about his and Shinichi's situation and can assist them... helps.
His host's mental wellness is also higher, thanks to Nazuna. Shinichi... cares about him. He has another human on his team, someone to share his deepest secret with.
But while Migi recognises Nazuna's use, he doesn't have care towards him. He's a tool to be used, the same as all other humans would be to him.
....He may not have active animosity towards him, but he knows there's a certain tension. Nazuna can be... problematic, at times. The fact he doesn't answer him now, but just sends him more knife symbols...
Migi has his own vindictive streak. There won't be any reply on his end. He just quietly erases the messages of this little conversation with Nazuna.
All except for the latest one. The row of knives. He leaves that one.
...And then he wakes Shinichi up by popping him in the face a couple of times. When the boy's hazily stirring, the alien leaves his phone on his chest and peaces out. )
I appreciate it a lot. I was worried I was going to have to try to get rid of these clothes...
( ...and not seem like a total serial killer in the process... )
He's okay, he didn't get hurt or anything. He's... never lost a battle yet. I think it tired him out, though. He's been asleep for awhile...
( Migi's a terrifying little alien hand! He'll fuck you up good! But... oh my god, Natsume. That's absolutely horrifying to think about; Shinichi is Very Concerned. )
How old were you when they first started chasing you?
No, no, we can definitely salvage them. You'd run out of clothes in no time if you had to throw them away any time they got bloody, I imagine. Can you tell if they're torn or anything?
[In his oddly pragmatic way, Natsume...likes Migi. He's very strange and alien and doesn't think like a human, but Natsume is used to that. Plus it's reassuring to know that Shinichi has something so...savage and unbeatable watching his back.]
That's good, then. You should probably both rest, though, even if you didn't really do much of the fighting.
Well, I've always been able to see them, but they didn't start bothering me until after I moved out of my father's house. [That's a very roundabout way of saying the answer: after his parents died, when he was four.]
( "We", Natsume says. Even if it's a simple word, it.... means a lot to hear it. It's someone else who knows the truth about him, who he can talk to about all of this.... Someone who can help. Even if it's something like getting the blood out of his clothes. )
I don't think anything's torn; I just got kind of... splattered... But I guess I should probably start learning stuff like sewing, huh. Just in case.
( It'd probably be a good skill to have now that his life involves getting roughed up like this... )
Yeah, you're probably right. I want to take the world's longest shower ever before passing out, but Migi hates water so they have to be quick...
( No hour-long relaxing baths for Shinichi, sadly. But that next part, though.... Oh. It's terrifying enough dealing with his own things, but that started happening so freshly for Shinichi; he's seventeen years old, closer to a man than a boy. But to have dealt with something like youkai so young.... )
You were... really little. That must have been so scary. Did you even have anybody you could talk to about it?
I could teach you. If you'd like. It's pretty simple, really, once you get the hang of it. [Natsume is, as always, cautious of coming on too strong. The giddy relief of having someone who not only believes him, but who understands keeps threatening to sweep him away, and he has to reel his eagerness in. He wouldn't blame Shinichi at all for being unsure, for wanting more distance. He wouldn't be the first or the last, and Natsume is too convinced of his own inherent lack of worth to question whether or not he's the problem. He is.
But he doesn't want to be. He wants to be helpful, he wants to get blood out of Shinichi's clothes and commiserate about the strangeness that haunts them both. He wants this -- whatever it is, acquaintance, friendship to last. He wants it so badly it aches.]
He doesn't like water? That...must make life on Earth inconvenient. You can't let him, um...be out of the water during? [Then again, holding one arm outside the shower curtain probably leads to puddles and the potential of slipping...bad idea.
Another constant with Natsume: quickly backing away from any discussion of his own life, his trials or hardships or, most evidently, his past.] I'm really very used to it by now. Most of the time I barely notice things unless they try to bother me. I try not to let on that I can see or hear things -- it tends to upset people and they think I'm trying to scare them or making things up.
[The answer hidden in that: no. No, he never had anyone to tell. Nobody who believed him.]
[[It scratches so many of my horror itches. The only one that ranks above it is Junji Ito's work. And yet here I am playing a ridiculous fluffy lad from a fluffy watercolory BL.]]
Wow when did you get edgy?
[Still squinting, but contact history suggests schoolmates before one or both of them moved to different parts of the city. He can barely say he remembers anything about this pretty normal dude and now he's being...weird. Real weird.
Unfortunately he has somehow managed to avoid the idea of aliens and mouth-heads so far.]
Uh Sometimes Usually it's a criminal thing isn't it?
[ oh heck yes, hard agree, Junji Ito has to be the horror manga supreme. The absolute nightmare fuel things he comes up with, my god.... ๐ But fluffs are good too, balancing out the horror sometimes! ]
What is edgy?
( Migi's jumping right into the learning opportunity, here. There's no concern about the fact that the other boy might just think the person he's talking to is acting absolutely insane... Sorry not sorry, Shinichi. )
Have you ever bitten someone? Was it with the intent to kill, maim, or simply as a warning?
( He's... collecting as much data as possible... )
( The clinical manner in which the man delivers the information is ideal, Migi thinks. To the point, easy to understand. Those speedy alien fingers are typing a quick message in replyโ )
I will let him know.
( โbefore the texts go quiet for a good while. ....During that extended silence, he's informing Shinichi of what to do and how to do it, and once his anxious host has managed to calm down enough that he seems stabilised, Migi will be reporting back to Ben briefly. )
Your instruction has been successful. He is
( Shinichi's phone gets yoinked out from his wayward hand โ Who are you texting! โ and the teenager is gaping in shock at the realisation the alien's been single-handedly carrying on a conversation for the past several minutes all on his own.... )
Professor Dearborn? Wow, I'm so sorry to bother you, I accidentally texted the wrong person, I think
( ......He couldn't think of anything better to say, and he's already flaring back up with panic.... )
( Ben thinks to google for suggestions on how to respond to someone having a dissociative identity episode, and he does, except half of his brain is so confused and concerned that it's shattering his concentration, which leads to the other half of his brain being unable to fully understand the terms he's reading considering that they're all articles in Japanese, and while his handle on the language is plenty good enough to be a foreign instructor, he certainly isn't teaching medical psychology here.
so he's in the middle of devising how to ask Whoever he's talking to to somehow...let him speak to Shinichi โ who knows, maybe it will work? โ when new messages reach his screen first.
and that's...exactly the development he had hoped for, which is great, except that now Ben once again is not sure how to proceed now that we're all here. )
It's a relief to hear from you, Izumi. No trouble at all.
( Ben can't think of anything better either, if it helps... the brief explanation Shinichi gives him is just another perplexing layer on this confusing cake, one stacked so precariously that Ben isn't sure how to approach it without it all toppling down. )
Can I ask how you're doing? I don't want to intrude, I'm only concerned if you need any more help. ( he hates implying that Shinichi needs help, especially from him, but also...this string of exchanges from tonight is kind of a glaring beacon for that, isn't it? )
( Shinichi's quickly scanning over the messages that were sent between his, sentient alien hand,, and his tutor (is this really his life? is it??), shocked that Migi would reach out to someone like this. And now how to fix this..... Ben's inevitably asking how he is, probably wondering if he's having some sort of mental breakdown...
The boy sits on his bed, stunned for a long moment, loosening his shirt collar because things still feel a little too tight. He's no stranger to panic at this point, but the anxiety has.... gotten worse. Sometimes, debilitating.
But he realises he can actually answer this part honestly. )
It's just
I heard about another one of those murders happening, and I guess it got to me
( The grisly Tokyo killings popping up over the news, lately... said to be the work of some deranged serial killer. What's left of the bodies that are found.... are barely anything recognisable as "human." Shreds of skin draped over someone's clothes' line. Masses of pulp, a few bones but never a full set.
Shinichi knows, however. No person is doing this. It's others of Migi's kind, the ones who were able to successfully take over their hosts' brains. And now they're feeding on humans.... It's messy, violent, brutal. Too wet, too red. He's seen it happen right in front of his eyes. As far as he knows, he's the only one who knows the truth.
โHe should tell someone, tell the police, but Migi won't let that happen, and the guilt is an ever-present weight; sometimes Shinichi just can't carry it and it's hard to breatheโ )
I'm okay now, thank you I talked myself through it
You sound like you're really good at this kind of thing
( the murders โ Ben has undoubtedly heard about them, and while it's no surprise that anyone in the city is feeling a striking fear over the expanse and the severity of them, but is somewhat surprised that this topic seems to be enough to send Shinichi over the precipice of composure into a well of absolute panic. fears don't always have a defined source or reason, of course... but this has Ben wondering what it is about local murders that has the boy so afraid. the shocking brutality of them? the close proximity?
Ben has been...especially keen on following the developments on them. because while he might not know the culprit as well as Shinichi does, he has already decided they can't be done by human hands.
and that fact has Ben feeling a more solid connection to this entire event tonight. while it, as a reason, is a surprise โ Ben is far from questioning it. )
They've been on my mind as well... So your concern about that is very understandable. I'm happy to help in any case. ( it's true, and it's also a more stable bridge for Shinichi, should he wish to travel it. Ben knows that continuing to comment on Shinichi's...odd panic attack here isn't considerate, nor will it really gain anything for either of them. besides, he's not his doctor, just a foreign professor...
it's sort of a good sign that Shinichi is present enough in the situation that he's commenting on Ben's ability to help him through an attack โ even if it leaves Ben feeling a smidge self-conscious, it's only because he doesn't know how to respond the most considerately that isn't fully truthful. it can sometimes make others feel put-upon, but here... )
You could say that. (here, perhaps talking about this won't be too much. (and he also doesn't think Shinichi is the type of teenager that will do something childishly nefarious with personal information about one of their professors, especially.) )
By a wide margin, I'm more practiced at handling panic attacks than I am at teaching.
a horrendously dated tag appears from the ether.... pls feel no obligation to reply to this!!
( There's a knee-jerk guilt at bringing up The Murders and using them like this, even if he's technically not lied about anything yet. But it feels wrong, not being fully truthful about something so horrible. There's certainly an abundance of rumours flying around โ the leading theory is, of course, some kind of serial killer. But people say other things, the kids at school whispering about spirits and monsters, mostly in nervous giggles, like it's something they're not exactly serious about. Alternatively, older generations might very seriously use the word "demons", yokai. What he'd give to be able to tell someone that he knows exactly what they are, what they can do. )
You've had them before?
( It surprises him. He's not really used to hearing adults talk about things like that. Or.... well, anyone, really. And text can't quite convey how gently he means the question, how much he wouldn't want to pry into the older man's personal business โ certainly, Shinichi knows what it is to prefer to keep things close to himself. But he can't help toeing closer to it, to what Ben's gently opened up for him, and even if this entire conversation is less than pleasant in terms of subject matter, it... helps. To have something to concentrate on. To talk to someone who has experience with something like that โ to such a degree, more experience with them than he does with teaching. That... says a lot, and Shinichi's absorbing it for a few moments, this information he's been given.
Another question forms, one typed slowly, aware that Migi's watching everything, but for the moment his hands are his again. )
Does it get any easier? Handling them, the more you do it.
( The changes in atmosphere will always be jarring in some capacity, but Shinichi has to admit that he's getting much more used to it. This place is always changing, sometimes flickering with snippets that are familiar (but always wrong in some way, like a memory that isn't quite being remembered the right way), and sometimes seemingly random. Or... not entirely, because even now, he has to admit that the place that popped up is kind of perfect for them, right now.
It's secluded, and safe (...at least, it seems that way.) They opened the door from the cityscape apartment they were last staying in for a couple of weeks and stepped out into cold white, everything else vanishing behind them. A lodge spreads out against the snowy landscape, impressive and expansive, the kind of thing people spend a lot of money to vacation in. The rest of the day was spent exploring it โ multiple floors with wooden rooms and huge beds draped in thick blankets, wardrobes filled with boots and coats. There's a dining hall that could seat at least ten people, and a massive kitchen stocked with food and drinks. There's even a big study-slash-library up on the second floor, with shelves that reach from floor to ceiling, covered in books (to the delight of Migi).
Most impressive of all is the common room in the main area, with a crackling fireplace, plenty of seating and rugs, and huge windows revealing the wintery wonderland outside and the slopes of steep hills. It'sโ beautiful, if not just the teensiest bit uncanny maybe, considering it's just the two of them alone in something so big that was clearly meant to fit a large number of people (well, the two of them plus an alien). But that's how this place is. It's just the two of them. And maybe sometimes that's unsettling, but mostly, especially lately, it comes with feeling very warm, too.
Shinichi's still shy in all new ways, flushing so easily when Kaede's close, with memories of hand-holding and quiet tears and confessions of being afraid to lose his most precious person still fresh in his mind. It was a few days after that, that he'd asked her if she might like to go out with him, on a date (using that word specifically, ears red and smile nervous) โ and this place gave them opportunity for an entire Date Weekend, apparently. So after they wake up the next morning, have breakfast and find coats and winter clothes that fit them, Shinichi's had some time to plan some things to do. And they have the whole rest of the day; it's a nice feeling. Relaxing. Maybe... they can just enjoy this place while they're here.
First on the agenda is outdoors time, and while Shinichi is hardly a master of athleticism..... even he can manage a sled, right? ...Right? Migi won't let him hit a tree and die, at least. Though the alien's mostly keeping quiet, especially sensitive to extreme temperatures, and he's not wanting to come out of Shinichi's coat pocket any more than he has to, not even with thick gloves on.... The boy can be seen gently urging his own wrist up and out of his pocket more than once, giving a little wince to himself, kind of hoping Kaede doesn't notice. These days, he's feeling a lot more self-conscious about the fact that he's sort of like something out of a horror story.... Kaede doesn't think he's gross or weird, right?? Does Migi bother her?? ...Does holding his hand bother her? It's something he needs to ask, but for nowโ )
I have a confession.... ( He turns to her as he finishes pulling the sled up onto a slope; it's not too steep, but still... a warning is necessary, here... )
I haven't done this since I was probably really little.... so I might be kind of rusty. ( The boy smiles, reaching up to adjust his glasses. There was only one sled to be found (surely not because his subconscious wanted to share it with her, right.... Oh, Teenage Boy Hormones), but he's going to ask what her preference is here, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable about anything, give her the space she might need. )
You can go first if you want to. Or we can go together โ I'm cool with anything. ( His smile's warm; he's... happy. This is nice. )
[When Shinichi had asked, Kaede briefly forgot how to speak. Again. Emotions and feelings she'd only just let herself feel again fizzed up all at once like the bubbles in a drink, turning her mind into a cloud of frazzled static. Words wouldn't make it out of her mouth without becoming similarly indistinct and fuzzy, so she'd pressed her face against his shoulder, hand curled tightly against his jacket and ears blending in with her hair, and hoping he could hear and understand her little raspy "yes".
And...he did. The dreams did, too.
This place was so big two Maple Inns could fit in, with room left over--and with a great vaulted ceiling too, one that never seemed to trap cold air or steal warmth from that always-lit fireplace. The hills and snow-covered trees hemming the place in made the lodge feel protected, not claustrophobic. And the snow was so deep the drifts came up to well above her knees; if she stepped off a path she'd be in soft powder over her ankles. Kaede's vectors were rather useful when it came to sweeping the snow out of the way, but it hardly seemed much an impediment to Shinichi. He'd been flitting around the lodge like a quiet, but giddy moth; Kaede followed him sometimes, mostly to ensure there was not, in fact, something dreadful hidden in one of the rooms, but she just as often left him to his devices. Shinichi seemed to be planning something; at least some of them could be surprises. It gave her time to rest on a couch in the main lounge, and wonder at the warm feeling in her chest that didn't come from the fireplace.
The diclonius didn't stay put long, though, especially when Shinichi wanted to go outside. After wiggling into a long coat that was thinking about being too long, Kaede's knees were still a bit cold despite the long skirt and leggings--but nevermind that. She drew close to the bespectacled boy in a few steps, like some part of herself needed reassurance he was still there, still here. And she inevitably noticed him flushing when she did, which made a blush of pink appear on her ears while she pretended not to notice. She did notice how his hand seemed to be troubling him in the cold--was Migi being a problem again? Something indignant and possessive joined the Warm Thing in her chest, but before she could get too far into that spiral, Shinichi came to a stop.
Kaede's head tilted a bit at him; her voice was level, the better to hide the complex bundle of things underneath, but there was a bit more lightness in her expression than before. Almost like amusement.]
You're more experienced than I am, then.
[She'd seen snow before, of course--but never this much, let alone used a sled in her life.]
I'll go with you.
[It was out of her mouth before Kaede thought too much about it; there was only one sled, and a lot of trees Shinichi could run into. And--the way he smiled, it made the Warm Thing flutter a little.]
( There's a fluttering in his own chest at the response, and the way Kaede's looking at him โ he knows the subtle tells of her expressions by now, at least most of them, he thinks. He used to be reminded of Migi with her cool surface calm, that detachment that keeps her apart from things and people, and back when he'd first known her maybe he tried to respect it in the same kinds of ways (and maybe it unsettled him for awhile, because it reminded him of Migi), but... it's different now. He knows she's not like that. Not something alien, looking at humans through some clear lens. Not someone to treat clinically. She's not anything like Migi. She's... someone he can only ever imagine being so soft to; that's all he'd ever want to be with her. As soft as he possibly can, gentle and comfortable and warm. He's still learning her, but there are ways he knows her, too. The same as she knows him after all this time, after everything they've been through together. He can see that little bit of lightness there, no matter how subtle it may be. He's felt it before.
And it fuels him, makes the waves of his own shyness and even the lingering nerves feel less sweeping, more like pleasant little ripples in his stomach. He wants to make her happy, and he's smiling wider, perking up. She wants to go with him.....! He's excited... )
Okay...! We can go together.
( Gloved hands reach for the thick line of rope connected to the thing and he's pausing for a moment, thinking about it... Should she sit in front or back...? Clearly, he's never done this with two people before. In the movies, it seems like the girl is always in the front, but... what if they go over a bump or something and his weight hurts her from behind...? (He has literally seen Kaede kill a man and yet Shinichi is worried about her being squishy, okay....) )
I can sit in the front. That way I won't squash you.
( He gives a soft laugh, moving to sit on the wood with his knees bent. Of course, that flush to his cheeks is only growing as he realises it means Kaede will be behind him.... and he's sure she'd think to hold on, but he needs to clarify just how tightly.... If this were anyone else, he might be in danger of sounding cringey or smooth or flirtatious or a number of things, but judging by how red the tips of his ears are... it comes out sounding considerably uncool. )
Ahโ you should probably hold onto me pretty tight. So you don't fall off....
[Kaede is still a little squishy, it's true. Mostly bony and pointy and sinewy, though. But where all those held-back emotions were percolating away in her chest was very soft, and so usually very well protected and armored until she forgot what any of them were supposed to feel like.
Around Shinichi, she didn't feel like she needed to hold that armor so close. He wouldn't spring to attack some fleeting weakness in her demeanor, he'd just make a little worried frown, or...or that wobbly smile.
So she wasn't prepared when he mentioned where to sit on the sled, or how. The sound of the metal runners gliding over the snow was only a passing detail to distract herself with. The rest of Kaede's mind was distracted by the Warm Thing's fluster, and how nice it was to hear Shinichi laugh.]
Uh-
[Set a bit off balance, her response was embarrassingly close to an awkward stammer.]
R-right.
[Shinichi didn't see that, right. Or hear. Surely he wasn't a witness or anything even though she was saying this right next to him. Kaede carried on straightaway as if her ears weren't feeling unusually warm, kneeling on the sled the same way Shinichi had. And she held onto his shoulders, like he asked, fingers curled tight on the young man's jacket.]
Like this?
[Kaede's voice still hadn't fully recovered, sounding quiet and almost uncertain.]
(Oh.... he did hear that little offbeat hiccup, something that sounds very close to the way Shinichi often, nervously, speaks... And it makes his heart do a sudden fresh dose of flippy-fluttery things, almost steals his own breath for a moment.
It's not the first time Shinichi's thought this, but it reels him sideways all over again, gently โ Kaede is extremely cute.
He may be oblivious to many things (at least, Migi would claim as such).... but not even he could possibly miss the fact that his suggestion has caused that little bit of fluster in the girl. And Shinichi can barely stand it, pleased in a way that's new for him, stupidly happy, giddy, maybe. He can't remember the last time he ever felt that way. Migi happened, and then Deerington, and then another dreamscape, and things have been frightening and upsetting and weird, but somehow he's able to feel nervously happy and it's.... nice. He's biting down on his lip a little to stop from smiling too much, only as soon as he feels Kaede grasp onto his shoulders, his heart's going crazy all over again and the butterflies in his stomach have either multiplied in number or are having a dance party. )
I think that's good. Unless you feel safer holding onto my waist, eitheโ ( Aaaand his own voice cuts off from the mix of pleasant nerves and blood-flushed ears and cheeks and he's clearing his throat immediately. A little embarrassed by his own verbal slip-up, but he knows he's not cool.... ) โEither one.
( Still, he's buzzing with those happy nerves as he adjusts his grasp on the rope and glances down at the slope they're on the precipice of. Of course, it's at that moment that a soft voice pipes up from his palm, muffled by woolen glove, the fabric moving slightly as Migi speaks in his usual robotic tone. )
Shinichi. I have calculated the slope's angle and determined that the safest velocity when traveling down it would beโ
It's fine! ( The boy's voice, lowered almost to a hush, comes quickly and with a desperation. Please be quiet.... He doesn't want to be reminded about his talking alien hand right now, okay.... )
Shinichi. Steering a wooden sled is not so simple. It requiresโ
Migi, it's fine. I'll be careful, don't worry.
( ....Silence. It doesn't alleviate his dose of discomfort, and he's wincing a little as he turns his head back towards Kaede, giving an awkward breath of a laugh. )
Sorry about that.... Are you ready? We just have to umโ kind of scoot over the edge.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
โ pyonpyon
Perhaps you are one.
( Migi... how reassuring... )
I will delete it. But we must inform him about the Lawson-employee situation. I want to check in on it soon.
What do you mean, I might not be here if he were anybody else?
no subject
Maybe you should wake him up.
no subject
( Is Nazuna insinuating that he should be grateful for Shinichi's personality? To Migi, that part doesn't really matter. If his host had been reckless and potentially dangerous to him, the alien would simply have forced him to behave via any means necessary.
The next part gives him pause. )
Are you experiencing anger towards me right now?
( If he were with Nazuna in person, he would more easily be able to tell by his tone, his facial expression, but text makes it much more difficult to read a person. )
no subject
๐ช๐ช๐ช๐ช๐ช
(no one: ) (me: launches into alien introspection)
His host's mental wellness is also higher, thanks to Nazuna. Shinichi... cares about him. He has another human on his team, someone to share his deepest secret with.
But while Migi recognises Nazuna's use, he doesn't have care towards him. He's a tool to be used, the same as all other humans would be to him.
....He may not have active animosity towards him, but he knows there's a certain tension. Nazuna can be... problematic, at times. The fact he doesn't answer him now, but just sends him more knife symbols...
Migi has his own vindictive streak. There won't be any reply on his end. He just quietly erases the messages of this little conversation with Nazuna.
All except for the latest one. The row of knives. He leaves that one.
...And then he wakes Shinichi up by popping him in the face a couple of times. When the boy's hazily stirring, the alien leaves his phone on his chest and peaces out. )
no subject
:> )
senpaii? issht you ?
( ...He's half-asleep, glasses shoved askew across his face, blinking glossily at the screen. Why are there... knives....? )
are yoi okay /?
โ natzoom
I appreciate it a lot. I was worried I was going to have to try to get rid of these clothes...
( ...and not seem like a total serial killer in the process... )
He's okay, he didn't get hurt or anything. He's... never lost a battle yet. I think it tired him out, though. He's been asleep for awhile...
( Migi's a terrifying little alien hand! He'll fuck you up good! But... oh my god, Natsume. That's absolutely horrifying to think about; Shinichi is Very Concerned. )
How old were you when they first started chasing you?
no subject
[In his oddly pragmatic way, Natsume...likes Migi. He's very strange and alien and doesn't think like a human, but Natsume is used to that. Plus it's reassuring to know that Shinichi has something so...savage and unbeatable watching his back.]
That's good, then. You should probably both rest, though, even if you didn't really do much of the fighting.
Well, I've always been able to see them, but they didn't start bothering me until after I moved out of my father's house. [That's a very roundabout way of saying the answer: after his parents died, when he was four.]
no subject
I don't think anything's torn; I just got kind of... splattered...
But I guess I should probably start learning stuff like sewing, huh. Just in case.
( It'd probably be a good skill to have now that his life involves getting roughed up like this... )
Yeah, you're probably right. I want to take the world's longest shower ever before passing out, but Migi hates water so they have to be quick...
( No hour-long relaxing baths for Shinichi, sadly. But that next part, though.... Oh. It's terrifying enough dealing with his own things, but that started happening so freshly for Shinichi; he's seventeen years old, closer to a man than a boy. But to have dealt with something like youkai so young.... )
You were... really little.
That must have been so scary. Did you even have anybody you could talk to about it?
no subject
But he doesn't want to be. He wants to be helpful, he wants to get blood out of Shinichi's clothes and commiserate about the strangeness that haunts them both. He wants this -- whatever it is, acquaintance, friendship to last. He wants it so badly it aches.]
He doesn't like water? That...must make life on Earth inconvenient. You can't let him, um...be out of the water during? [Then again, holding one arm outside the shower curtain probably leads to puddles and the potential of slipping...bad idea.
Another constant with Natsume: quickly backing away from any discussion of his own life, his trials or hardships or, most evidently, his past.] I'm really very used to it by now. Most of the time I barely notice things unless they try to bother me. I try not to let on that I can see or hear things -- it tends to upset people and they think I'm trying to scare them or making things up.
[The answer hidden in that: no. No, he never had anyone to tell. Nobody who believed him.]
โ zgok
"Normal" is too subjective of a term for my vocabulary.
( ...Says the little shit. Migi, he has a point. Most people need to sleep this time of night.
...Unfortunately, this is his time to do all his scientific research! )
Bite marks? Do humans often bite each other?
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Wow when did you get edgy?
[Still squinting, but contact history suggests schoolmates before one or both of them moved to different parts of the city. He can barely say he remembers anything about this pretty normal dude and now he's being...weird. Real weird.
Unfortunately he has somehow managed to avoid the idea of aliens and mouth-heads so far.]
Uh
Sometimes
Usually it's a criminal thing isn't it?
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What is edgy?
( Migi's jumping right into the learning opportunity, here. There's no concern about the fact that the other boy might just think the person he's talking to is acting absolutely insane... Sorry not sorry, Shinichi. )
Have you ever bitten someone? Was it with the intent to kill, maim, or simply as a warning?
( He's... collecting as much data as possible... )
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[Kusakabe is just...staring at those messages. The speech pattern is weird.]
If I ever bit someone it was probably when I was little and really mad
I feel like I'm talking to a serial killer ngl
[He might be debating on calling the guy just to see if he's actually ok.
And not lurking inside his closet or something......]
apologies for the delay, my work schedule is crazy right now!
I assure you I am not. I have no interest in killing humans.
( .....Yeah that's definitely not a weird thing to say at all, Migi. )
I just want to study them.
No worries, life happens!
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PARDON THIS RANDOM OLD-ASS TAG.... I fell off the face of the earth, no obligation to reply!!
Helloooooo welcome back, I know how that feels for sure.
Thank you! This thread is a gift, I'm definitely glad to continue it :'D
Yesss same!
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CRASHES BACK IN HERE FOR THIS hi sorry for quiet, life and brains uncooperative...
โ fumitory
( The clinical manner in which the man delivers the information is ideal, Migi thinks. To the point, easy to understand. Those speedy alien fingers are typing a quick message in replyโ )
I will let him know.
( โbefore the texts go quiet for a good while. ....During that extended silence, he's informing Shinichi of what to do and how to do it, and once his anxious host has managed to calm down enough that he seems stabilised, Migi will be reporting back to Ben briefly. )
Your instruction has been successful. He is
( Shinichi's phone gets yoinked out from his wayward hand โ Who are you texting! โ and the teenager is gaping in shock at the realisation the alien's been single-handedly carrying on a conversation for the past several minutes all on his own.... )
Professor Dearborn?
Wow, I'm so sorry to bother you, I accidentally texted the wrong person, I think
( ......He couldn't think of anything better to say, and he's already flaring back up with panic.... )
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so he's in the middle of devising how to ask Whoever he's talking to to somehow...let him speak to Shinichi โ who knows, maybe it will work? โ when new messages reach his screen first.
and that's...exactly the development he had hoped for, which is great, except that now Ben once again is not sure how to proceed now that we're all here. )
It's a relief to hear from you, Izumi. No trouble at all.
( Ben can't think of anything better either, if it helps... the brief explanation Shinichi gives him is just another perplexing layer on this confusing cake, one stacked so precariously that Ben isn't sure how to approach it without it all toppling down. )
Can I ask how you're doing? I don't want to intrude, I'm only concerned if you need any more help. ( he hates implying that Shinichi needs help, especially from him, but also...this string of exchanges from tonight is kind of a glaring beacon for that, isn't it? )
gently brings in canon horrors for tutor AU ....
The boy sits on his bed, stunned for a long moment, loosening his shirt collar because things still feel a little too tight. He's no stranger to panic at this point, but the anxiety has.... gotten worse. Sometimes, debilitating.
But he realises he can actually answer this part honestly. )
It's just
I heard about another one of those murders happening, and I guess it
got to me
( The grisly Tokyo killings popping up over the news, lately... said to be the work of some deranged serial killer. What's left of the bodies that are found.... are barely anything recognisable as "human." Shreds of skin draped over someone's clothes' line. Masses of pulp, a few bones but never a full set.
Shinichi knows, however. No person is doing this. It's others of Migi's kind, the ones who were able to successfully take over their hosts' brains. And now they're feeding on humans.... It's messy, violent, brutal. Too wet, too red. He's seen it happen right in front of his eyes. As far as he knows, he's the only one who knows the truth.
โHe should tell someone, tell the police, but Migi won't let that happen, and the guilt is an ever-present weight; sometimes Shinichi just can't carry it and it's hard to breatheโ )
I'm okay now, thank you
I talked myself through it
You sound like you're really good at this kind of thing
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Ben has been...especially keen on following the developments on them. because while he might not know the culprit as well as Shinichi does, he has already decided they can't be done by human hands.
and that fact has Ben feeling a more solid connection to this entire event tonight. while it, as a reason, is a surprise โ Ben is far from questioning it. )
They've been on my mind as well... So your concern about that is very understandable. I'm happy to help in any case. ( it's true, and it's also a more stable bridge for Shinichi, should he wish to travel it. Ben knows that continuing to comment on Shinichi's...odd panic attack here isn't considerate, nor will it really gain anything for either of them. besides, he's not his doctor, just a foreign professor...
it's sort of a good sign that Shinichi is present enough in the situation that he's commenting on Ben's ability to help him through an attack โ even if it leaves Ben feeling a smidge self-conscious, it's only because he doesn't know how to respond the most considerately that isn't fully truthful. it can sometimes make others feel put-upon, but here... )
You could say that. ( here, perhaps talking about this won't be too much. (and he also doesn't think Shinichi is the type of teenager that will do something childishly nefarious with personal information about one of their professors, especially.) )
By a wide margin, I'm more practiced at handling panic attacks than I am at teaching.
a horrendously dated tag appears from the ether.... pls feel no obligation to reply to this!!
You've had them before?
( It surprises him. He's not really used to hearing adults talk about things like that. Or.... well, anyone, really. And text can't quite convey how gently he means the question, how much he wouldn't want to pry into the older man's personal business โ certainly, Shinichi knows what it is to prefer to keep things close to himself. But he can't help toeing closer to it, to what Ben's gently opened up for him, and even if this entire conversation is less than pleasant in terms of subject matter, it... helps. To have something to concentrate on. To talk to someone who has experience with something like that โ to such a degree, more experience with them than he does with teaching. That... says a lot, and Shinichi's absorbing it for a few moments, this information he's been given.
Another question forms, one typed slowly, aware that Migi's watching everything, but for the moment his hands are his again. )
Does it get any easier? Handling them, the more you do it.
โ long_live_the_queen
It's secluded, and safe (...at least, it seems that way.) They opened the door from the cityscape apartment they were last staying in for a couple of weeks and stepped out into cold white, everything else vanishing behind them. A lodge spreads out against the snowy landscape, impressive and expansive, the kind of thing people spend a lot of money to vacation in. The rest of the day was spent exploring it โ multiple floors with wooden rooms and huge beds draped in thick blankets, wardrobes filled with boots and coats. There's a dining hall that could seat at least ten people, and a massive kitchen stocked with food and drinks. There's even a big study-slash-library up on the second floor, with shelves that reach from floor to ceiling, covered in books (to the delight of Migi).
Most impressive of all is the common room in the main area, with a crackling fireplace, plenty of seating and rugs, and huge windows revealing the wintery wonderland outside and the slopes of steep hills. It'sโ beautiful, if not just the teensiest bit uncanny maybe, considering it's just the two of them alone in something so big that was clearly meant to fit a large number of people (well, the two of them plus an alien). But that's how this place is. It's just the two of them. And maybe sometimes that's unsettling, but mostly, especially lately, it comes with feeling very warm, too.
Shinichi's still shy in all new ways, flushing so easily when Kaede's close, with memories of hand-holding and quiet tears and confessions of being afraid to lose his most precious person still fresh in his mind. It was a few days after that, that he'd asked her if she might like to go out with him, on a date (using that word specifically, ears red and smile nervous) โ and this place gave them opportunity for an entire Date Weekend, apparently. So after they wake up the next morning, have breakfast and find coats and winter clothes that fit them, Shinichi's had some time to plan some things to do. And they have the whole rest of the day; it's a nice feeling. Relaxing. Maybe... they can just enjoy this place while they're here.
First on the agenda is outdoors time, and while Shinichi is hardly a master of athleticism..... even he can manage a sled, right? ...Right? Migi won't let him hit a tree and die, at least. Though the alien's mostly keeping quiet, especially sensitive to extreme temperatures, and he's not wanting to come out of Shinichi's coat pocket any more than he has to, not even with thick gloves on.... The boy can be seen gently urging his own wrist up and out of his pocket more than once, giving a little wince to himself, kind of hoping Kaede doesn't notice. These days, he's feeling a lot more self-conscious about the fact that he's sort of like something out of a horror story.... Kaede doesn't think he's gross or weird, right?? Does Migi bother her?? ...Does holding his hand bother her? It's something he needs to ask, but for nowโ )
I have a confession.... ( He turns to her as he finishes pulling the sled up onto a slope; it's not too steep, but still... a warning is necessary, here... )
I haven't done this since I was probably really little.... so I might be kind of rusty. ( The boy smiles, reaching up to adjust his glasses. There was only one sled to be found (surely not because his subconscious wanted to share it with her, right.... Oh, Teenage Boy Hormones), but he's going to ask what her preference is here, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable about anything, give her the space she might need. )
You can go first if you want to. Or we can go together โ I'm cool with anything. ( His smile's warm; he's... happy. This is nice. )
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And...he did. The dreams did, too.
This place was so big two Maple Inns could fit in, with room left over--and with a great vaulted ceiling too, one that never seemed to trap cold air or steal warmth from that always-lit fireplace. The hills and snow-covered trees hemming the place in made the lodge feel protected, not claustrophobic. And the snow was so deep the drifts came up to well above her knees; if she stepped off a path she'd be in soft powder over her ankles. Kaede's vectors were rather useful when it came to sweeping the snow out of the way, but it hardly seemed much an impediment to Shinichi. He'd been flitting around the lodge like a quiet, but giddy moth; Kaede followed him sometimes, mostly to ensure there was not, in fact, something dreadful hidden in one of the rooms, but she just as often left him to his devices. Shinichi seemed to be planning something; at least some of them could be surprises. It gave her time to rest on a couch in the main lounge, and wonder at the warm feeling in her chest that didn't come from the fireplace.
The diclonius didn't stay put long, though, especially when Shinichi wanted to go outside. After wiggling into a long coat that was thinking about being too long, Kaede's knees were still a bit cold despite the long skirt and leggings--but nevermind that. She drew close to the bespectacled boy in a few steps, like some part of herself needed reassurance he was still there, still here. And she inevitably noticed him flushing when she did, which made a blush of pink appear on her ears while she pretended not to notice. She did notice how his hand seemed to be troubling him in the cold--was Migi being a problem again? Something indignant and possessive joined the Warm Thing in her chest, but before she could get too far into that spiral, Shinichi came to a stop.
Kaede's head tilted a bit at him; her voice was level, the better to hide the complex bundle of things underneath, but there was a bit more lightness in her expression than before. Almost like amusement.]
You're more experienced than I am, then.
[She'd seen snow before, of course--but never this much, let alone used a sled in her life.]
I'll go with you.
[It was out of her mouth before Kaede thought too much about it; there was only one sled, and a lot of trees Shinichi could run into. And--the way he smiled, it made the Warm Thing flutter a little.]
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And it fuels him, makes the waves of his own shyness and even the lingering nerves feel less sweeping, more like pleasant little ripples in his stomach. He wants to make her happy, and he's smiling wider, perking up. She wants to go with him.....! He's excited... )
Okay...! We can go together.
( Gloved hands reach for the thick line of rope connected to the thing and he's pausing for a moment, thinking about it... Should she sit in front or back...? Clearly, he's never done this with two people before. In the movies, it seems like the girl is always in the front, but... what if they go over a bump or something and his weight hurts her from behind...? (He has literally seen Kaede kill a man and yet Shinichi is worried about her being squishy, okay....) )
I can sit in the front. That way I won't squash you.
( He gives a soft laugh, moving to sit on the wood with his knees bent. Of course, that flush to his cheeks is only growing as he realises it means Kaede will be behind him.... and he's sure she'd think to hold on, but he needs to clarify just how tightly.... If this were anyone else, he might be in danger of sounding cringey or smooth or flirtatious or a number of things, but judging by how red the tips of his ears are... it comes out sounding considerably uncool. )
Ahโ you should probably hold onto me pretty tight. So you don't fall off....
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Around Shinichi, she didn't feel like she needed to hold that armor so close. He wouldn't spring to attack some fleeting weakness in her demeanor, he'd just make a little worried frown, or...or that wobbly smile.
So she wasn't prepared when he mentioned where to sit on the sled, or how. The sound of the metal runners gliding over the snow was only a passing detail to distract herself with. The rest of Kaede's mind was distracted by the Warm Thing's fluster, and how nice it was to hear Shinichi laugh.]
Uh-
[Set a bit off balance, her response was embarrassingly close to an awkward stammer.]
R-right.
[Shinichi didn't see that, right. Or hear. Surely he wasn't a witness or anything even though she was saying this right next to him. Kaede carried on straightaway as if her ears weren't feeling unusually warm, kneeling on the sled the same way Shinichi had. And she held onto his shoulders, like he asked, fingers curled tight on the young man's jacket.]
Like this?
[Kaede's voice still hadn't fully recovered, sounding quiet and almost uncertain.]
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It's not the first time Shinichi's thought this, but it reels him sideways all over again, gently โ Kaede is extremely cute.
He may be oblivious to many things (at least, Migi would claim as such).... but not even he could possibly miss the fact that his suggestion has caused that little bit of fluster in the girl. And Shinichi can barely stand it, pleased in a way that's new for him, stupidly happy, giddy, maybe. He can't remember the last time he ever felt that way. Migi happened, and then Deerington, and then another dreamscape, and things have been frightening and upsetting and weird, but somehow he's able to feel nervously happy and it's.... nice. He's biting down on his lip a little to stop from smiling too much, only as soon as he feels Kaede grasp onto his shoulders, his heart's going crazy all over again and the butterflies in his stomach have either multiplied in number or are having a dance party. )
I think that's good. Unless you feel safer holding onto my waist, eitheโ ( Aaaand his own voice cuts off from the mix of pleasant nerves and blood-flushed ears and cheeks and he's clearing his throat immediately. A little embarrassed by his own verbal slip-up, but he knows he's not cool.... ) โEither one.
( Still, he's buzzing with those happy nerves as he adjusts his grasp on the rope and glances down at the slope they're on the precipice of. Of course, it's at that moment that a soft voice pipes up from his palm, muffled by woolen glove, the fabric moving slightly as Migi speaks in his usual robotic tone. )
Shinichi. I have calculated the slope's angle and determined that the safest velocity when traveling down it would beโ
It's fine! ( The boy's voice, lowered almost to a hush, comes quickly and with a desperation. Please be quiet.... He doesn't want to be reminded about his talking alien hand right now, okay.... )
Shinichi. Steering a wooden sled is not so simple. It requiresโ
Migi, it's fine. I'll be careful, don't worry.
( ....Silence. It doesn't alleviate his dose of discomfort, and he's wincing a little as he turns his head back towards Kaede, giving an awkward breath of a laugh. )
Sorry about that.... Are you ready? We just have to umโ kind of scoot over the edge.
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