yogen | npc contact.2

[ You know how Kazuki asks for their code names and then proceeds to never use them

Anyways, he does stand when Subaru introduces himself, polite in his own way, though he doesn't step away from the tree to approach. ]

This is the second I've heard wind of being spoken about amongst your peers. [ said carefully like he kind of wants to know whether they're good things being said, but also doesn't want to ask ]

It's a pleasure to meet another student of this school. Have the two of you been doing well?

They're good things! Berith says he enjoys your company, and that you're super kind.

[he's got your back big guy. also subaru immediately dropped any pretense of formality, he's really bad at it.]

And better than most! We're alive, [uh,] or, well. As alive as you can be here. We'll probably graduate just fine.

We're getting by — it's more than some others can say.

( rip. pours one out for clamor and narumi and "clamor" except not really on that last one. actually, most important of all, amami's gonna cross his arms and skip straight to the point for now; he doesn't mind dropping by just to chat once in a while, but today there's something way more important than how he's doing that he'd like to ask about. )

Actually, that's one of the things I wanted to talk about if you don't mind. Some things happened lately and, well... well the short version is that there were people messing around with things they shouldn't have been.

[ It's a warm smile that passes across his face at the mention of Natsume's opinion of him, but while the expression doesn't last, the warmth does seep into his voice as fondness. ]

High schoolers are at that age...

[ High schoolers around the glove do things they shouldn't be doing, but the two of them aren't going to gain anything by snitching to the gardener of all people. Fond, though. ]

What has you so concerned?

[ooh, nice slide in. subaru glances at amami, then back at kazuki.]

Soul swapping and possession. [...

then, quieter to amami:] Right? Those're the big points of what happened recently.

( with a glance to subaru, amami offers a nod and a smile — he's got it — before he turning his attention back to kazuki. )

It didn't go too well for them though, and we were wondering if you might not know what we should look out for if someone's soul is harmed.

( he looks a bit sheepish here, sounds it too, but! this is important. )

I know you're a gardener and all, but seeing as you take care of the tree, we thought you could have a better idea than us.

[ Just normal high school things... ]

That would depend on the situation at hand. Each blow at the heart chips away at the soul, but it is difficult to tell from appearance as one tends to keep such things hidden. A soul that has been shattered, departed from the body, is a much different matter.

[absolutely normal high school things.....]

... So what does that look like? And is it possible to, uh... reconnect them?

[he guesses that's what it is, reconnecting. keigo seemed alright enough, shaken but themself, but poor narumi...]

Yeah, it'd be good to hear about both. ( subaru's got this. )

We don't know exactly how the spell went, so it's difficult to say what the damage is right now.

Eventually, two parts of the same soul will find one another, like twin flames between people.

[ It's the concept of one soul split into two— mirror images of one another inhabiting two different people who are inexplicably drawn to one another to create the whole. ]

No matter how damaged a soul is, give it enough time, and it will heal, just as your own will heal no matter how much of it has worn away by the hardships you have experienced.

Eventually, huh...

[how long is eventually, though. would narumi just wake up one day, fine as can be? or would his soul be repaired hanging from the tree...]

Is there a way to like, speed it up? Soul-fishing or something like that? What happens if the body, y'know, dies before the souls find each other again...?

["amami has better questions" and subaru just has too many]

( oh, yeah... that's a good reply. amami breathes out a sigh of relief when he hears it, and some of the tension in his shoulders eases up. if anything happened to kamo-kun before he called meng yao over, then he knows at least that their soul is in their body, so anything else... that can be a matter of time. )

Maybe if we find one piece of the soul, it can act as a compass that will lead us to the rest...?

( or something? looks at kazuki... )

[ Doesn't look back, because he can't see Amami looking at him ]

You two sound like you are referring to a specific incident. Why don't you tell me what happened? I will be able to serve you better, than with broad generalizations.

[ah...

subaru looks to amami, then mouths: 'you were the one who dealt with that stuff, so floor's yours.']

Yeah, that's the hard part. We're... not completely sure what happened — I'm not, at least.

( he does not have supernatural sight, he has a rock that he was too busy having murderous intent to look through at the time. )

What I do know is that somebody was messing with souls. They... might've been trying to switch them around, from what I heard, but the spell they used was faulty, and they were interrupted on the way. The target of the spell, ( he's assuming that's what narumi was, ) they've been out for a while now, so it's hard to know what's wrong with them. We're assuming that their soul "departed from their body," like you said.

Someone else... they happened to walk in on what was happening, and... Well, I asked for some help from someone who was able to separate a "malicious being" from them. I'm still kind of worried about if they'll be okay too.

[ oh. this is more specific than he thought

but one thing at a time: ]

A body without a soul will not survive. That soul, if fragmented, will be drawn to whichever part has an anchor, whether there is the smallest bit left in that target of yours, or if it has found a home elsewhere.

Elsewhere? Like in someone else, or...

[what was it.]

An object? How can we tell? I don't wanna see someone die, Kazuki-san, even if I've never spoken to them a day in my life.

[even if it's... inevitable, maybe, that narumi weakens and fades -- he wouldn't be subaru "tangy" akehoshi if he didn't try.]

...

( might've been someone else, but sure as hell not anymore, not on amami's watch... anyway, tangy's got this so amami just kind of waits for kazuki to answer. )

[ how we could have had Narumi back, but somebody had to exorcise the shopkeeper ]

It could be either. When new life is born into the world, a lost soul will come to reside in it. For an object to harbor a soul, it is done with intent, generally with something very personal, like a doll or a cellular phone.

[ Like when you're a kid and talked to your stuffed animals and they "talked" back, each with their own personality. Or if you're the sort of person to name your phone or laptop or car, and talk to it as if it were a person when it's not working the way it should.

Like that but with more magic bullshit ]

[it's that shsl sibcon in action

anyway, subaru listens carefully, tilting his head slightly. so... narumi might be a baby. is that how it's been for everyone?

... for the ones who've "come back", the way they have. it's a question he holds onto for a moment, because there's still the second part-- he looks up at the tree quietly, then meters out his words.]

And... about the other one, the friend of ours who had their soul dancing with a bad spirit... Do you know if they'll be okay since we've separated it? [...] Do you think they might've "lost" anything?

[there's always something like that, right? losing a part of themselves when separating things. it's popular in fiction.]

( amami gives subaru a look like he's not super happy about that last, tacked-on question, but... he also doesn't object. the way his lips pull into a grimace, it looks more like guilt than any outward-bound frustration, even as he sighs again (negative). )

If there's anything we should know... that would help them heal, or that we should avoid to keep them safe.

( even if it is an "all will get better with time" situation, he can understand that a fresh wound is more tender — vulnerable. )

It is possible. But your friend would know better than any outside observer.

[ Maybe Natsume was the only one to see, but otherwise... You ever have such a soul-crushing experience that, even if you weren't possessed by an evil spirit, you feel like you've lost something, like you've lost a part of yourself— the you that's supposed to be happy and productive and present— and you don't know how to get back to being that person? You would handle it the same way: ]

Give your friend time, kindness, and patience. The soul will heal. It is not made of glass, after all: it grows and changes all the time, constantly shaped even by the mundane everyday.

[so just like anything else.

but it's still a relief; the most they can do is keep an eye on them, to give them time and kindness and patience, and that's easy. subaru can do that. amami, he's certain, can do that. it's not something outside of their realm, beyond their scope of understanding, unlike the circumstances leading up to it.]

We can definitely do that. Right, Ama-chan?

[look his nicknames come in handy, nevermind that amami's already messed up before iirc,]

( oh thank god, so it's like he thought. that ugly grimace slides off his face, but he'll hold off on the sigh of relief for now. they can rebuild kamo-kun. they have the technology (love), and amami's already nodding along. )

Yeah. Yeah, we can do that. Thanks, Kazuki-san.

( he, for one, will definitely be taking care to make sure he won't let them down again. )

There's a couple other things I wanted to check on before we let you go though. Do you mind?

[ Sometimes love can rebuild a person... sometimes you buy a plot clue and ask for a "save Narumi's soul" mission to get a tulpa back and that's love too. ]

Not at all. I will always have time for my... for the students here.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject