[Looking slowly up, his brows narrow. He shakes his head. Binch, you think anyone tells Hizamaru anything?!]
I've only heard of the ones from elder brother, but not of any of the others.
[Granted, he hadn't gone out of his way to search for answers either... Mostly because he's trying to be polite and not in people's business?! And he has a stupid brother to wrangle half the time.]
[He just makes a face at that because why doesn't anyone tell Hizamaru anything?]
There have been three others that I've heard about since then. The one with Izuminokami, Grune and Tamamo, the one with Dick and Taako, and the one with Haymitch and Katy. Three rooms, three different problems. Haymitch and Katy are the ones who found those monsters in the gym. These things shaped like people, but they didn't have faces.
I don't think that's really your fault when apparently nobody's sharing information with you. [For fucks sake!!!]
The way Haymitch described it, it sounds exactly like those people. But they disappeared from the room and we don't know where they went. Dick and Taako also put together a corpse in another room and she came back to life.
That's okay... Elder brother probably knows, and as long as he does...
[Big brother getting deets is what matters to him.]
"They are not as they sound"...? I don't understand what this has to do with... any of this, Junpei-san. The... other side of things. The one we're receiving in pieces. The strange voices? And the story... about the brothers and the others. And now... this.
Hizamaru. [A careful reprimand because he doesn't want him to think he doesn't deserve to know. Also I don't know if Higekiri really knows everything.] Even if he does or doesn't know that doesn't change that you should know, too.
I've thought about it, and I wonder if it's a hint to the broadcasts we hear that play on the PA system. "They are not as they sound." Maybe the messages we hear aren't as literal as we think.
I think we're learning all of this now because there's a hidden story here we haven't discovered yet. But we're getting closer even if it doesn't feel like it.
[If Higekiri doesn't know either then that's just the Genji way. Stumbling into bullshit. He does at least lower his eyes a moment when he's scolded. Ha ha, whoops.]
Elder brother thought it was in regards to the voices we hear over the ship, too. [His brows furrow.] Junpei-san, what happened to the body that came back to life with Nightwing-san and Taako-san?
Uh...Taako hit it with a chair and killed it again. I think they left it in the room they broke into. So next time we open the door it'll probably be there. I hope.
Dick had a vision instead. That probably helped more than anything. It confirmed some things we had suspicions about for some time. The demons split when they break the barrier, but...[Hm. ] Hizamaru. Has your brother told you about the special people among us by now?
[For a long moment or two, he peers at Junpei as if he isn't sure whether or not he should answer. Finally, he nods.]
Mm. The thirteen. [His eyes search Junpei's face without faltering.] You, Nightwing-san, Grune-nii, Edelgard-san, Nikkari-san... and Escha-san, Kanesada-san. And six others. I believe Shiraishi-san may also be one, too.
You all have abilities that some others do not, but you aren't able to speak about it unless... we "ask the right questions"?
...okay, wow he really does tell you everything. But yes. [If he's surprised he doesn't say so.] Dick's vision also showed that when people with these special roles die, their role transfers to someone else. So as long as thirteen people are alive, all thirteen roles will be in play.
Yes. I must be his memory. [Everyone thinks Higekiri and Hizamaru is just Like That, but no one ever thinks to ask Hizamaru what he's remembering for his forgetful brother. :,)] What happens when only thirteen people are left...? Does it end...?
I don't really know what happens. That's the part that worries me. It was implied that their numbers dropped down to twelve after four weeks. We're almost at that point, and if it's twelve then we lose the roles entirely.
It feels like we're setting up that if there are less roles than demons, we might be in trouble. I don't know yet.
[He frowns worriedly, but doesn’t say anything for some time. His eyes turn pensively down into the glass in his hands.]
I wonder why... how their numbers dropped so drastically... Did someone try to kill the demons on their own without exorcising them...? And they doubled twice...? Three times?
I think...you know that Dick--Nightwing--has a role. He learned some things that seemed to imply that our last group might've come here for a different reason and it turned into a killing game amongst the people. One of the notes even said "why do the dead keep popping up if you kill someone let them stay dead."
Which, you know, not a great thing to find out. The other one said "How are we supposed to believe any of this is realistic? Why would anyone just kill right away? 0/10 would not recommend."
I thought about the note you received, too. About how they're not as they sound. If the group before us couldn't believe it was realistic...maybe we should be asking ourselves the same.
I was going to ask you that, too, Junpei-san... If you thought... perhaps we were not the only ones on this ship?
[He's too ye olde to know how to accurately explain this, and it shows on his face, the frustration.]
It's... like a play? Like... [Maybe that's a better way to understand it.] Like when we perform for others at our master's behest. When we're on stage, pretending. The ship is... a stage?
I've been wondering that for a very long time. That someone else is still here watching us perform and they're tricking us the entire time. The deaths seem very real, and so do the demons. But what if it's something else?
But I really do think we're being watched if that's what you're asking me. The timing of the announcements and everything is too weird.
[This makes him frown. It's one thing to be on stage for a good cause--song and dance. It's another to be on stage as entertainment with... demons? With people's deaths?]
It's okay, Junpei-san. We'll... find the reasonings behind what is happening. If... Prompto-san and I are able to send and receive messages, then I don't believe... [He sighs quietly.] The deaths are gruesome, and I know they must be painful, but... They aren't final.
I hope so. If we don't, then what's even the point? [...but there's something in that and he just kind of eyeballs Hizamaru quietly.]
...can I ask you something? And get a truthful answer. When was the last time you got to talk to Prompto? It's...do you only believe they aren't final because Carlos said they're all together somewhere else?
[The smile that comes to his lips is very faint and bittersweet.]
I was a spirit for a long time, Junpei-san. I know humans feel as if being a spirit may be final, the end. Perhaps that is all death is, losing the human body and becoming your true essence... like I had been as a sword.
But Nikkari-san has given me a message I know is from Prompto-san... and so, it isn't final, even if he may be a spirit. I don't mind. If I can talk to him, or meet him, even as spirits. That is enough to make it not final for me.
[There's something in what Hizamaru says that makes complete sense. He takes a sip as he thinks, eyes growing a little soft and expression more worn down than usual as he thinks on those words.]
...I can't lose my human body here. It's the one consistent thing that has kept me alive through every single death I've faced. Without a body to return to, we can't stay alive. I'm...every day I think about the fact that we're still losing people and we don't really know what the end result will be. Maybe we are supposed to be spirits, or maybe we're supposed to find a way to bring them back. I don't know. But I can't die here. There's something very important I have to get back to, and even if I were a spirit I'm afraid I would lose it forever.
[...] But I like the theory anyway. That it really isn't final either way.
It's okay. I understand, Junpei-san. Our human bodies are new, but they can be damaged, too. But beyond that... our true selves cannot be broken, or our spirits will be, too. Being badly damaged... it can also mean a lack of existence for us.
[He's quiet for a bit, not looking at Junpei. Not looking at the sake either, even if he takes another careful sip.]
I will tell you what I think, Junpei-san. I think it's... okay for me to say on my own. [He's learning? He's learning.] You should make sure those with abilities aren't able to be possessed by any demons. If that's true, then... in the end, to make sure there are more of you than of demons... You are going to have to decide if you want to do what is honorable but very difficult.
You are going to have to remove those of us who do not have abilities so we are not possessed by demons.
And you are going to have to trust that your story won't end here in this place. But please be sure... that is not what those we have heard tried before--only to fail.
...I want to exist. [It's what he says, because after everything and the histories he's jumped to and the people he's saved to make sure their existence is real, it's the one thing he's firm on.] I want to make sure everyone here can exist when this is over.
[But. He listens again, because even if Hiza is babby there's a wisdom there that Junpei himself doesn't quite grasp yet.]
There isn't a way to guarantee that those people won't be possessed. Everyone can be possessed, and only three people can protect three other people at a time. [And if his voice sounds tight and quiet it's maybe because this has been bothering him more than he'll admit to most people who expect him to lead and figure things out.] What's the honorable thing then, Hizamaru? Is it really to sacrifice other people? I'm not...it happens in games like these, I get it, but the roles keep moving and people keep dying.
We have to be better than them. We can't fail after everything we've already gone through on this goddamn ship. But other than trying to find these people and connect them, I'm not sure what else I can do anymore. We still let a murderer get away even though we found one. Can we still be happy with that?
If you find out that is what is required for us to be safe in the end... yes. It's not what we would hope, but it is what's right. I cannot speak for others, but I do not mind... being removed if it ensures all of us return to the timeline where we belong. But we should make sure that is the case before we act.
A single person can disrupt so much of history doing things on their own. Just like Mikazuki-sama. You have to remember... to work together as a team. I believe in you, Junpei-san, and I believe in the others, too.
[His frown is soft.]
It's true I am wary about the one which escaped; however... We found another this time. So, for now, perhaps only one is left. You will only have to find one person to purify.
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I've only heard of the ones from elder brother, but not of any of the others.
[Granted, he hadn't gone out of his way to search for answers either... Mostly because he's trying to be polite and not in people's business?! And he has a stupid brother to wrangle half the time.]
There are more demons hidden on the ship...?
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There have been three others that I've heard about since then. The one with Izuminokami, Grune and Tamamo, the one with Dick and Taako, and the one with Haymitch and Katy. Three rooms, three different problems. Haymitch and Katy are the ones who found those monsters in the gym. These things shaped like people, but they didn't have faces.
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Ah... [Wow. Literally told nothing, ha ha!!] Grune-nii was missing, but she never said to me why or how. I'm sorry, Junpei-san... that I wasn't aware.
[He frowns.]
People without faces...? Like what you and elder brother had seen...?
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The way Haymitch described it, it sounds exactly like those people. But they disappeared from the room and we don't know where they went. Dick and Taako also put together a corpse in another room and she came back to life.
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[Big brother getting deets is what matters to him.]
"They are not as they sound"...? I don't understand what this has to do with... any of this, Junpei-san. The... other side of things. The one we're receiving in pieces. The strange voices? And the story... about the brothers and the others. And now... this.
Why?
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I've thought about it, and I wonder if it's a hint to the broadcasts we hear that play on the PA system. "They are not as they sound." Maybe the messages we hear aren't as literal as we think.
I think we're learning all of this now because there's a hidden story here we haven't discovered yet. But we're getting closer even if it doesn't feel like it.
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Elder brother thought it was in regards to the voices we hear over the ship, too. [His brows furrow.] Junpei-san, what happened to the body that came back to life with Nightwing-san and Taako-san?
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They didn't attempt to... speak to it?
[but like that's fair though]
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[For a long moment or two, he peers at Junpei as if he isn't sure whether or not he should answer. Finally, he nods.]
Mm. The thirteen. [His eyes search Junpei's face without faltering.] You, Nightwing-san, Grune-nii, Edelgard-san, Nikkari-san... and Escha-san, Kanesada-san. And six others. I believe Shiraishi-san may also be one, too.
You all have abilities that some others do not, but you aren't able to speak about it unless... we "ask the right questions"?
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Or do we begin to lose the roles...?
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I don't really know what happens. That's the part that worries me. It was implied that their numbers dropped down to twelve after four weeks. We're almost at that point, and if it's twelve then we lose the roles entirely.
It feels like we're setting up that if there are less roles than demons, we might be in trouble. I don't know yet.
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I wonder why... how their numbers dropped so drastically... Did someone try to kill the demons on their own without exorcising them...? And they doubled twice...? Three times?
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Which, you know, not a great thing to find out. The other one said "How are we supposed to believe any of this is realistic? Why would anyone just kill right away? 0/10 would not recommend."
I thought about the note you received, too. About how they're not as they sound. If the group before us couldn't believe it was realistic...maybe we should be asking ourselves the same.
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[He's too ye olde to know how to accurately explain this, and it shows on his face, the frustration.]
It's... like a play? Like... [Maybe that's a better way to understand it.] Like when we perform for others at our master's behest. When we're on stage, pretending. The ship is... a stage?
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But I really do think we're being watched if that's what you're asking me. The timing of the announcements and everything is too weird.
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It's okay, Junpei-san. We'll... find the reasonings behind what is happening. If... Prompto-san and I are able to send and receive messages, then I don't believe... [He sighs quietly.] The deaths are gruesome, and I know they must be painful, but... They aren't final.
That, at least, gives me a little hope.
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...can I ask you something? And get a truthful answer. When was the last time you got to talk to Prompto? It's...do you only believe they aren't final because Carlos said they're all together somewhere else?
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I was a spirit for a long time, Junpei-san. I know humans feel as if being a spirit may be final, the end. Perhaps that is all death is, losing the human body and becoming your true essence... like I had been as a sword.
But Nikkari-san has given me a message I know is from Prompto-san... and so, it isn't final, even if he may be a spirit. I don't mind. If I can talk to him, or meet him, even as spirits. That is enough to make it not final for me.
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...I can't lose my human body here. It's the one consistent thing that has kept me alive through every single death I've faced. Without a body to return to, we can't stay alive. I'm...every day I think about the fact that we're still losing people and we don't really know what the end result will be. Maybe we are supposed to be spirits, or maybe we're supposed to find a way to bring them back. I don't know. But I can't die here. There's something very important I have to get back to, and even if I were a spirit I'm afraid I would lose it forever.
[...] But I like the theory anyway. That it really isn't final either way.
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[He's quiet for a bit, not looking at Junpei. Not looking at the sake either, even if he takes another careful sip.]
I will tell you what I think, Junpei-san. I think it's... okay for me to say on my own. [He's learning? He's learning.] You should make sure those with abilities aren't able to be possessed by any demons. If that's true, then... in the end, to make sure there are more of you than of demons... You are going to have to decide if you want to do what is honorable but very difficult.
You are going to have to remove those of us who do not have abilities so we are not possessed by demons.
And you are going to have to trust that your story won't end here in this place. But please be sure... that is not what those we have heard tried before--only to fail.
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[But. He listens again, because even if Hiza is babby there's a wisdom there that Junpei himself doesn't quite grasp yet.]
There isn't a way to guarantee that those people won't be possessed. Everyone can be possessed, and only three people can protect three other people at a time. [And if his voice sounds tight and quiet it's maybe because this has been bothering him more than he'll admit to most people who expect him to lead and figure things out.] What's the honorable thing then, Hizamaru? Is it really to sacrifice other people? I'm not...it happens in games like these, I get it, but the roles keep moving and people keep dying.
We have to be better than them. We can't fail after everything we've already gone through on this goddamn ship. But other than trying to find these people and connect them, I'm not sure what else I can do anymore. We still let a murderer get away even though we found one. Can we still be happy with that?
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A single person can disrupt so much of history doing things on their own. Just like Mikazuki-sama. You have to remember... to work together as a team. I believe in you, Junpei-san, and I believe in the others, too.
[His frown is soft.]
It's true I am wary about the one which escaped; however... We found another this time. So, for now, perhaps only one is left. You will only have to find one person to purify.
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