tampered | A Journey Into the City

A Journey Into the City

When; Thursday, May 2
Rating; PG
Characters; Shikieiki Yamaxanadu and Subway Master Nobori
Summary; Nobori and Shikieiki try to figure out what non-terrible things exist in the city to deal with.
Log;

The fountain is gentle in the evening light, the water splashing softly as Shikieiki approaches its edge. The plinth where she was brought into the city is still nearby, and she lays a hand on it as she watches the water ripple. The City is beautiful in its own way...it may be chaotic, but right now it has settled into quiet, and as the occasional passersby shuffles along, she looks first at the streets and their people and then down at the water. It glistens orange and yellow and red, sparkling in the sun.

Nobori isn't here yet; she got to the fountain faster than she expected. Sitting against the plinth, peering at the water, she unhooks the mirror from her belt and holds it for a few seconds, running her fingers along its edge.

What is she even doing here? Being an advisor is all well and good, and being a judge is her work...but this being a companion...what does this mean for her? Though she is a godlike being, she still has a physical body, and so she has a pulse and it can rise...which it does, just a bit, as she turns the mirror outward and holds it over the water.

The committee of ten Yama who judge all of the Earth and its nearby residents (the Lunarians included) have a set of protocol so tangled, old, and complex that it takes an incredible memory to recall it. She has it all in the back of her mind, a sort of magical eidetic memory for her work, and one of these rules is that no Yama can use the Cleansed Crystal Mirror on another. It is forbidden to see the sins of another of her kin, and for them to see hers, for while none of them are perfect, they are not included in the final judgment. Even so, Shikieiki has a perfect record of her wrongdoings in mind, and she has done all she can to make amends for each one.

These interactions with Nobori, though...it is possible that she hasn't been thinking this through as much as she considers her usual actions. Being a real friend is out of her league, and she does not think it is wise...but she will look nonetheless.

Peering over the side of the fountain, she looks at the reflection of the mirror. She could look into it herself, just turn it to face her, but she wants to see what he saw. The spirits don't talk back, and Gensokyo's residents hold a certain reverent silence -- or snappish sullennness -- in her presence, but Nobori's comments stay with her a little. Humiliated and exposed.

It's not the same, she knows, but at least now she can see the ice-on-cobalt eyes and the gleam of her own reflection in the mirror. Her own actions burn into her mind again, like little drips of fire tracing out an image that will never depart. She can remember a spirit's entire list of lifelong sins, for youkai of thousand-year lives...as a result, she doesn't forget so easily.

I shouldn't do this.

But he is alone, torn from his family forever. He needs someone.

Not me.

Why not?

I must be impartial. I cannot know mortals.

And immortals?

I cannot eat the proverbial apple, or so the Western legend goes. I cannot teach myself what desires are, what loneliness is, what the mortals feel when they describe the holes in their spirits.

And she is that weak?

No. But time wears on all, and this is not what I was created to do. I must be in the optimal state to do my work.

Then be confident. She has iron will.

Yes. Then, be confident, and meet Nobori as the comrade he wishes to have.

She is still holding the mirror when he nears the fountain.

(And here's some Touhou music I was thinking of while writing this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMTPsrHEqXs )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He had run to reach the fountain. He tends to favour running over walking in the City, whenever the opportunity arises, because he does not want for his speed to diminish.

He isn't entirely sure why he keeps to the practice now, if returning to his home and previous occupation (where it was necessary) is impossible, but with speed being the few physical advantages he had without relying on his partner's power, it could only help him when the City decides to turn hostile.

He slows to a walk when he nears the fountain and watches Shikieiki holding that unpleasant mirror over the water with tentative curiosity. He does not question it or call for her attention, content to simply stand in wait with his arms crossed behind his back until she acknowledges. Chandela is more straightforward, cutting in to bob curiously between Shikieiki and the mirror (personal space, what personal space?). "Shandelashasshan~!"

... that name might be a tedious mouthful, but it seems to have stuck for the luring Pokemon.

She leans back as Chandela darts between her and her mirror, instinctively flipping the mirror down so that Chandela can't look into it. It's not active anymore, but nonetheless she keeps it out of the way.

"Hello, Chandela-san." She is a little surprised to see someone so right there -- personal space is just something she assumes, and she isn't used to the intrusion. Between a culture where contact isn't encouraged, and a life where most entities fear her, she never comes this physically close to anyone. Still, she simply hangs the mirror on her belt again and scoots away from the Pokemon.

Looking away now, she settles her gaze on Nobori, who is standing calmly and waiting.

"My apologies, Nobori-san; I didn't see you there." She stands and motions to the City skyline. "Where are we going?"

Chandela floats away in satisfaction after attracting Shikieiki's attention. "Shan-shan~!" she returns the greeting.

Nobori gestures broadly in response. "Everywhere! ... eventually. For now, I think it would be nice to visit The Halftime Show. I am rather curious about what it is like. Perhaps we could pay the Koukakurou teahouse a visit after that?"

Edited 2013-05-05 03:57 (UTC)

She looks around as he motions to the City as a whole, and smiles in amusement. "I don't think we can see it all in one day. What is the Halftime Show?"

"I've never been there, but I believe it is a cinema of sorts. It would be interesting to see what kind of films they have here, at any rate!" He hums thoughtfully. "I suppose so. We could always meet up again and again, until we see all there is!"

"I've never seen a cinema, so this will be interesting." She pulls up a map on her device, which helpfully points out said location. "It isn't too far -- shall we?"

(ooc: Okay, I have to say it. Movie and tea -- with any other people, ever, this would totally be a date, whether either of them knew it or not. XD )

Edited 2013-05-06 17:08 (UTC)

"Indeed!"

He points with great flourish. "Point and call to signal OK! To the Halftime Show... depart!"

"Shaan!" Chandela flies beside him as he begins walking, at a reasonable pace because he doesn't want to leave Shikieiki behind... unless she decides she'd rather run too, of course.

(He's not going to put his hand down, though. He will point all the way. Because the Subway Masters are ridiculous that way.)

((Yes, with anyone else, this would absolutely be a date. xD ~~Hopefully, no one sees them and gets the wrong idea, right?~~))

It's so hard not to laugh at him, even for her, while he's pointing and shouting. She raises a hand to her face, covering her attempts to keep a straight expression and not start chuckling.

"Nobori-san, you can stop pointing." She ducks her head a little and -- all right, she can't not laugh now, so she keeps it quiet, and her grin can be only a little seen behind her hand. She catches up to him as he heads out. She's not exactly the tallest person, but she can easily keep pace with him; she walks quickly as if she's trying to get somewhere on time.

(ahahahahahaha yes.)

Edited 2013-05-06 17:45 (UTC)

He glances over his shoulder at that, looking surprised at the laughter, before adjusting his hat (in a semi-successful attempt to hide the embarassment plain on his face) and bringing his hand down. "Very well. However, it is necessary, for safety purposes, that one always be aware of what they are doing and where they are going! Pointing-and-calling ensures that the driver and conductor are both aware of what is being done and greatly reduces risk of error..."

And now, he's wholeheartedly giving, in utmost seriousness, a seemingly well-rehearsed speech on the importance of checking safety.

"Shandela-shaa!" Chandela sounds exasperated.

((~~Work-mode is the only functioning mode, apparently.~~))

Shikieiki leans a little closer to Chandela and gives her a bit of a conspiratorial whisper. "Don't worry; I am quite the same way sometimes."

She didn't mean to embarrass him, although she just got a flicker of it on his face before he went off on his lecture. Now that, she's very used to, because that's what she does when she needs to get a point across. Admittedly, she trends toward the verbose, and while it tends to bother people, she likes to think she's quite eloquent about it...and it gives people time to think about her point instead of moving on.

Once he's done, she figures, why not carry on with what he knows? She has a good memory; she's got the speech in her head, and even though she doesn't understand it much (no railroads in Gensokyo, unless you count Yukari's occasional rifts in spacetime that sometimes channel a train through the area), she'll encourage him.

"This is an artifact of your work, then? That makes sense, given that one mode of transport seems not so unlike another, save for the vehicle and the constraints on direction." She tries to imagine the layout of a train system -- straight lines and broad curves, she would expect. "Is the purpose of having both a driver and conductor, because one is planning the global scheme of the system while the other is guiding the specific train? It seems that having to communicate back and forth in a dynamic and fast system would make the process more difficult and introduce more error than having one individual handle all the data at once, unless that is not possible due to large amounts of information."

(Come on, Nobori, you made the woman laugh, that's usually considered a good thing ;))

Edited 2013-05-07 14:37 (UTC)

Chandela listens quietly, ceding. If Shikieiki does not have any issue with it and even finds the discourse familiar, she sees no reason to interrupt.

"Because a driver's job is to drive the train. A driver cannot simultaneously run a train, do paperwork, repair damage, operate the doors, and collect tickets. That is the conductor's job. Effectively, they are one. A driver and conductor must be in perfect sync to perform their job excellently."

Chandela gives Shikieiki uncertain looks, wondering if this is really that interesting to hear about. Well, at least time will pass faster this way until they get to the cinema! Watching a movie sounds considerably more fun to the Pokemon. Maybe there'll be popcorn! Caramel, even?

"Yes, you could call it an artifact, even in Raimon City, as our trains are fully automatic, no longer necessitating the constant presence of drivers, let alone conductors, outside of emergency situations... but I enjoy keeping the old ways alive alongside new innovations. It helps, of course, that my brother and I attract quite a bit of attention."

Which is to say that they're relatively famous and playing up the identical twin angle doesn't hurt things either.

((Well, goodness, at least he's doing something right!))

"Then I expect your brother and you were such a pair?" She isn't sure what said brother would look like, but she mentally sketches out an image mostly like Nobori, with a few random changes but still quite reminiscent.

She looks over at Chandela, who is occasionally glancing at her. Pokemon are hard to read, but she gets the idea of agitation. "Chandela-san, do you work with him? You seem to be a very capable individual, but I am unsure as to the role of Pokemon in your world, or how an entity like yourself would operate machines without hands."

In addition to involving the third party here in a conversation, she also hopes that maybe someday she can learn a bit of how to understand Chandela's responses. In the meantime, hopefully Nobori would translate.

(XD)

"Closer still." He prefers to compare them to a two-car train, after all.

At the question, Chandela shifts her attention back to Shikieiki. She nods happily. "Shasshan!" But everything that follows the initial question confuses her, then amuses her. "Shandela-shan! Shansha~n!"

"Chandela engages in Pokemon battles, Shikieiki-sama." He has no issue with playing translator in the meantime. "There are those who come to Gear Station not to ride the subway, but to challenge my brother and I! She makes a good combination with my brother's Shibirudon... and you will be surprised by how helpful Pokemon can be outside of battle, as well! Chandela's attacks stopped an unauthorized train from escaping with stolen monsterballs."

"Ah, so battles between these creatures are commonplace and not a sign of aggression? I see. We have similar duels; spell card combat is very common and not considered terribly threatening unless the participants make it so. Our usual rules prevent lethal combat or cards with a high chance of serious injury, although there are violations. I've dueled both humans and not; I'm not sure how I would compare to Pokemon, though. Youkai in my world have an enormous power divide...we have those of trivial capability, and those that can fundamentally shake down reality itself. One, at least."

She peers a little closer at Chandela's flames, which are a particularly interesting shade of bluish-violet. Clearly Chandela can fly, although anyone who's anyone in Gensokyo can also fly, so that doesn't answer many questions. But she has illusions -- Nobori said that she can produce a humanoid body and voice, like a youkai can -- and she is clearly capable enough to defend the train system.

"Monsterballs? Are these supplies that assist in battle?"

"Pokemon are much the same! Low level Pokemon, particularly newly-hatched ones, can hardly battle and there are some Legendary Pokemon who are worshipped as gods, ruling over time, space, dreams, nightmares, even such things as emotion and willpower.
In the Isshu Region, my home, legends tell of Reshiram and Zekrom, two Legendary Dragon types who sided with twin princes. One pursued ideals, while the other sought truth... this, of course, lead to war."

Chandela glances at Shikieiki when she studies her flames.

"Easy storage for Pokemon. They are also how you mark a Pokemon as yours, as they cannot be caught by another trainer after you do." Nobori takes out a small red-white sphere.

He taps the button, which allows it to expand to fill his palm, before pointing it at Chandela. "Return."

A red beam of energy shoots out and engulfs the Pokemon, bringing her inside the ball. "It does not make a very big difference for a Pokemon as moderately sized as Chandela, but in the case of my brother's Shibirudon for example, a large electric fish that's longer than we are tall, monsterballs are useful. Typically, Chandela stays inside..." But this clearly does not apply as much here in the City.

And they should be nearing the cinema now!

"Ah, how convenient. Presumably they do not mind the transition?" She watches the entire creature disappear into Nobori's hand-sized little sphere. How curious...youkai would pitch a fit if such a thing were ever suggested, but Pokemon seem inherently more cooperative than most youkai. Rather like friendly shikigami, actually...bound to their masters, but enjoying the relationship.

She checks her device as they walk -- the building is right nearby now. Glancing up, she notices the flashy sign over the entrance; anything like that in Gensokyo would be created by magic, but this appears to be purely technological.

"Well, here we are...I believe I'll defer to your choice on what we see. I'm just curious about the entire concept; I've never seen a non-magical moving image. We don't have what you would consider modern technology." She motions to the sign showing all the current shows playing.

Edited 2013-05-08 03:46 (UTC)

"A few dislike it, but good trainers respect their Pokemon's wishes."

He looks appreciatively at the sight. Raimon City was nothing if not flashy and gaudy with its tall buildings beaming with brightly coloured lights, light-up ferris wheel, glowing fountain, and to say nothing of the Gym modeled after a runway and accessible by roller-coaster cars through tunnels filled with designs in fluorescent lights!

This is more old-fashioned than he is used to, but it is still familiar enough.

"Hmm... what sort of thing are you interested in? There is an adventure feature, and also a drama." He skips over the romance and horror movie posters entirely; now, he might not pick up on the "date"-like qualities of taking a lady out to see a film and to have tea with, but watching a romantic film together is suspect even to him. He passes the horror film simply because it's very old and crude; it would probably end up a comedy upon viewing, quite unintentionally.

She thinks for a moment. "I think, given the atmosphere, an adventure show is appropriate. After all, we're on something of an adventure here ourselves."

Glancing at his hand, she motions to the monsterball he is still holding. "Is Chandela welcome, or will you be keeping her in there?"

He selects the adventure film and purchases tickets. He buys tickets for three separate seats, just in case.

In response to her question, he smiles. "Of course, she is. Chandela will not likely stay inside for long. My partner is obedient, but does not entrust me to this place..."

So it is quite likely that she will emerge on her own accord, just to keep watch.

"The earliest showing is still a quarter of an hour away, so what do you think of purchasing a light snack in the meantime?"

Food -- right! A common thing for social events is to share food. While she doesn't have to eat, due to a body sustained by magical forces and not by normal biology, she can if she wants....but she has no idea what normal food is here in the City.

"Ah..." She lightly smiles, a little confused. "I don't know what the City has for food. What does one eat here?"

(what is this human behavior thing lol. XD)

"Well, one does not typically eat proper meals or nourishing food at the movies... popcorn, sweets, soft drinks, salty and sugary food of little substance is typical."

It's easy to tell from his tone that he cares little for it, but he will look for where the food is sold regardless. "But there are many restaurants here that offer different kinds of food. We could go to them later if you are interested."

((Awww, so cute~!))

"I would rather have tea than meal, honestly. I am unused to large amounts of food." She shrugs at the suggestions. "As for the food here, I have little preference either way; truthfully, I don't usually eat at all, only if custom requires."

She's looking at the odd snacks with raised brows and a vaguely dubious expression, as if they're from another planet. Which, for her, they may as well be. What is this "popcorn" thing?

"I think I would prefer the tea as well. There are no requirements, but I suppose it does not feel like going to the movies without popcorn."

But her expression as she studies the popcorn amuses him. "You should see how they're made! The small corn kernel burst into these puffy white things while making popping sounds!" He gestures at the unpopped kernels for her to compare to (somehow, his tone has gone from quietly disapproving to sounding so enthusiastic he might as well be the one trying to sell it to her), before he decides to buy some. "Butter? Caramel?"

"Shanshadel!"

As if on cue, Chandela's reappeared in a flash of white light, probably scaring the vendor half-to-death.

She peers at the kernel popper, a hanging pot over a box of said puffy white things. After a few seconds, pop!, a few of the white things fly out of the pot and collect at the bottom of the box.

Chandela surprises her, appearing so suddenly. "Oh, you like caramel?" Also, apparently she can hear inside the ball. Curious!

Then she stands a little straighter, suddenly at attention. "Ah, Nobori-san, I forgot to mention -- it was quite remiss of me -- I have none of the City's money yet. Still, I will pay you what I owe the moment I can. I am in the process of finding work here."

She looks a little more sheepish than one would expect, but the idea that she has completely overlooked this and put the burden on Nobori is actually quite jarring. She never forces others to pull any weight for her, even in the most trivial of situations. (Not that she does much in the way of trivial things...this is all so new.)

Nobori apologizes to the terrified vendor, pushing brightly coloured coins on the counter as he bows.

Chandela happily nods at Shikieiki. "Shanshan~!"

Nobori glances at her, looking briefly confused, before smiling so widely in amusement it seems as though he might laugh. "It is no matter! It is my treat. You owe me nothing... but if you have decided you will pay me back, you can take as long as you need.

More importantly... you have begun to understand my partner. That is priceless."

((Sap, sap, sap~ I would apologize, but I'm not remotely sorry.))

For a a few seconds, she closes her eyes in an almost meditative quiet, instinctively structuring her mind and pushing out the wandering emotions. Then, she nods, looking a little more relaxed. "Ah, you are quite generous. Thank you. If you wish, I will drop the matter, but I certainly would never force you into a gift.

And Chandela, well, I am doing my best! I admit to some use of timing as an indicator." She offers a light smirk, a sort of, Yes, I'm cheating, joke.

...She has no idea what to do here. After all, there is no right answer, only the knowledge that she was remiss and now the matter is settled. From here...well, the two options are equivalent.

For someone with such initiative, she has already started tripping right over herself in friendly situations. How...well...

Pathetic isn't the word. She would never insult someone with no experience in a topic, when they tried it. Awkward, well, yes, but that isn't quite it, either.

Odd. Odd is all she can settle on. Someone who has spoken to thousands of people, has no knowledge of what to do here, past basic moral guidelines.

Odd.

(Good! You better not be sorry for that sap :P)

"You are not forcing me."

Chandela is not bothered by the teasing, quite happy with the development.

He is not well-versed in friendly interactions at all, but he is more accustomed to socializing with humans... and what little he does know seems so much greater compared to her more limited understanding.

Carrying the boxes, he turns to leave. "Check the tickets."

The three tickets which Nobori can't move to read while carrying the two boxes, glow faintly blue, float into the air at eye-level, and are arranged so that the seating arrangements and cinema door numbers are easy to read. "The third door to the right, ahead of us, then... depart!"

(Well, at least he can't do that silly pointing business while carrying popcorn! ~~Unless he does something truly ridiculous like haphazardly balance the boxes on top of eachother just so he can point or something equally silly.~~)

... the poor vendor probably collapsed out of fear of possessed cinema tickets.

[do you want to cut here, or go to afterward or what're we doing?]

((I was fine with carrying on (but mainly only because I thought it'd be funny if Chandela created illusions so it would look as if film characters were suddenly physically present in the cinema itself, but that's all I had in mind xD), if you'd like, we can stop here! o/

I'm otherwise out of ideas. ^o^;))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A Journey Into the City

[Guhhh, so pretty and moving! Both the post and the music.]

^^; Thanks!

[I keep accidentally hitting the reply button today, oops.]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

hah, caught you as you...woke up/arrived/whatever :P

[Yup, just woke up a few hours ago!]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject