Night 47: West Wing, South Hall 1-B

[kingdomless.livejournal.com]

( from here. )

So far, so good. Kairi tried to move as quietly as she could, not wanting to attract any kind of baddies that could be lurking in the shadows. ... And lest she forget actually crazy patients. Then again, she doubted she'd ever forget that incident.

Oh well, she was almost there. No time to think about past injuries.

( to here. )

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[gald_digger]

[from here]

"You fight with a sword, right?" Anise asked as the two of them reached the next hallway. It was the obvious guess, seeing as that was the weapon Momo was carrying. "I specialize in long-distance attacks, so if we get in trouble, I can back you up," she went on to explain.

Her fonic artes still didn't work that well, but they weren't completely useless. It was probably fair that Momo knew what Anise would be able to do if they did end up getting attacked.

[hajike-tobiume.livejournal.com]

It was because of the threat of a fight that Momo chose to tell Anise. She didn't want the girl to be left in the proverbial dark over something that important should a fight break out.

"Yes, I am skilled in kenjutsu," Momo replied. Seeing as the shinigami didn't see any ranged weaponry on Anise, she wasn't sure what to think of the 'long-distance' attacks the girl was referring to. Did she possess something like kidou? "But my talent lays in what I call kidou - the demon arts. Most humans find it easier to think of as magic, though." She smiled. "It doesn't work very well here, but well enough."

[gald_digger]

'Demon arts'? Anise blinked. With a name like that, it sounded kind of sinister. Like something a devil or an evil fonist would use in the fairy-tales she read as a kid.

The other phrase to make Anise pause came soon after. 'Most humans'? It sounded like the technique was something complicated, if she was using the same phrase Anise often did to describe her fonic artes (telling people it was easier to think of it as magic sure beat trying to explain fonons to someone who'd never heard of them), but with that kind of wording, Anise couldn't help but voice the somewhat awkward question.

"Um, so by 'most humans', are you saying you're...?"

[hajike-tobiume.livejournal.com]

A light chuckle came after the awkward question. Momo had been careless with her choice of words. She certainly wasn't hiding what she was, not at all, but there weren't that many that were comfortable with the idea of what she was.

"I am not human, Anise-chan; I am shinigami." She gave the girl a disarming smile. "A Death God. Though currently trapped in a very inconvenient human-like body. It's okay if you don't believe me. I won't hold it against you."

[gald_digger]

Shinigami? Death God?

"... Mm... I'm not sure I really get it. What's a 'Death God' supposed to be?" From the name, it sounded almost like it was supposed to be something like a god that ruled over death, but that was kind of... too incredible to be true, right? Especially for a tiny girl who treated strangers with the sort of politeness Anise only ever used when carrying out official duties. (And even then, she slipped a lot.)

And the talk about being trapped in an 'inconvenient human-like body' just made Anise imagine Momo's true form as some kind of big, scary demon. A 'god of death' that used 'demon arts' would probably look something like... that, right? With big horns and sharp claws...

...That couldn't be true either, right?

Without saying anything to let on to her wild thoughts, Anise stood and stared at Momo with a curious, confused look. Maybe the answer to her main question would explain the rest. Hopefully.

[hajike-tobiume.livejournal.com]

"Well... when a human dies, it's only the body that dies. The soul continues to exist, but in the afterlife. Shinigami help souls that are having trouble transitioning over once their body dies, and we also keep corrupted souls from preying on humans and weak souls," Momo explained. She wasn't sure the world Anise came from had some form of religion or their own tales of an afterlife, so she tried to keep things simple.

"You can kind of consider shinigami to be the police of the afterlife, keeping order and the souls safe until reincarnation." She smiled. "I know it's a lot to take in."

[gald_digger]

Anise wasn't sure what to think. This girl in front of her was talking about the afterlife like she knew all about it. Like it was an everyday thing for her.

After witnessing the deaths of some of her dearest friends, and having a close encounter with death herself, Anise had spent some time wondering and worrying about what happened after death. She had her own thoughts and beliefs about the afterlife, of course, but it was still something that was largely unknown and scary to her.

'A lot to take in' was an understatement. "I'll say," Anise mumbled in response, sighing. Could she even believe something that outrageous? That Momo knew all about something that lots of people spent their whole lives pondering? Maybe it was better to just drop the subject, rather than trying to wrack her brain thinking about gods, souls, reincarnation, and whatever else.

"W-well, anyway, we should keep going. We don't want to run out of time to explore!" Despite the bit of awkwardness in her tone, Anise quickly took on her usual energetic demeanor, and began walking briskly toward the end of the hall.

[to here]