♟ 001 ♟ In the Tower With Kariya

[vermicompost]

Characters: Kariya and OPEN
Setting: various
Format: either
Summary: Kariya's arrival in the Tower
Warnings: blood, possible body horror


Dormitories:
It's confusing, arriving here. This place, the letters, they're alarming. How could the world be destroyed? Where's Sakura? Where's Aoi? Kariya's heartbeat is accelerated, his breathing harsh and quick. His own agitation agitates the worms within him. In this state, it's difficult for him to walk, let alone make his way through an entirely new, strange environment, but he does his best. At times, he staggers and coughs, or stumbles to one side, disoriented. He has to pause to rest, more than once. Blood flecks his lips, gathering at the corners of his mouth and sliding down over his chin.

"Berserker, Berserker..." He calls out now and then as he goes, but no one comes to his call.


Cafeteria:
He managed to make his way down to the cafeteria. Sitting at the table, he gazes down at his oatmeal he was given, mournfully. He's not very hungry. He tries to eat it, but even just the plain oatmeal is difficult for him to choke down. It takes him a few tries, but he takes his time. When he pauses to cough, he wipes up the scattered bits of oatmeal flecking the table, a little embarrassed.


Infirmary:
The medical facility looks promising, but Kariya isn't sure if they have anything there he can use. He doesn't know if there's any medicine in existence that can help him. He'd like to try, but he doesn't want to risk disturbing the worms further. It's hard to say how they'll react to any stimulus. Much of his life has become a matter of worm management. He walks in slowly, quietly. "Hello, is anyone here?"


Meadow:
After wandering restlessly, at last Kariya settles himself, all but spent, exhausted from his wandering. He sinks down among the flowers with a sigh. When he focuses his gaze on the blooms, he feels more content, calmer than he was before. The flowers are lovely and fragrant, the petals soft and colorful. He just wants to rest a little while...

Comments

[puppy_lancer]

Well, a deal's a deal then. What would count as "giving" it to him?

[A big hole in the fabric of reality isn't really the most maneuverable of items.]

[vermicompost]

Right. I promised. [He doesn't quite understand the question.] I said I'd win the Grail for him, that's all.

The Grail's all he wants, so he can live forever. That way, he won't need Sakura as an heir.

[He knows Zouken isn't trustworthy, but what other choice did he have?]

[puppy_lancer]

And...do you have a way to move this Grail? Or are you just gonna let it sit and shit while you go get Zouken?

[vermicompost]

I don't--know. Exactly.

[It's almost as if Kariya didn't think things through very well--imagine that. But he can't admit that to himself.]

There must be some way to give it to him. When I win, he'll know. He'll come. He's a very powerful magus.

[puppy_lancer]

[There is something wrong when Lancer gives more consideration to a subject than someone else.]

Don't see why he couldn't have just gone and fought for himself, then.

[vermicompost]

[It's probably not a good sign.]

I don't know why. [There are a number of things he doesn't know about Zouken, who is a mysterious individual in some ways.] But the Grail didn't choose him. It chose me. I'm glad it did, so I can save Sakura.

[In spite of the toll it's taken on him.]

[puppy_lancer]

Is...that so? Even after everything that happened...

[He knows quite a few people who would've been happier not to be chose.]

[vermicompost]

Yes. I--there are things I don't like. Of course. I don't want to be like this.

[Decaying, dying. Nearly dead already. It shows in his face, what he is, what's happening to him. Like his grim determination shows in his voice.]

But I can help her this way. And--it's what I have to do. To make things right. So I'm glad. No matter what happens. As long as I can help her.

[puppy_lancer]

Did those scars come from your family's magecraft, then? Or did it have something to do with the Grail itself?

[He doesn't say anything in reply to Kariya's second remark. Sacrifice...Lancer hadn't really sacrificed much in physical terms, but he had dragged his honor through the dirt.]

[vermicompost]

[He nods, slowly. He feels relaxed enough with Lancer, oddly enough, to tell him. It can't hurt to tell him, can it?] It's magecraft.

My uncle's familiars are worms. They carry the family crest. They--

[They're eating him, honestly.]

I had to work with them, to take them on, in order to fight in the war. My magic circuits weren't developed enough. The worms stimulate them.

[puppy_lancer]

[Lancer visibly cringes.]

You mean they're inside your...

[vermicompost]

[He nods, glancing away.]

Yes. They are.

[puppy_lancer]

[He cringes again.]

Uh...you can control them, right? What happens when you use your magecraft too much?

[vermicompost]

In a way. I can fight with them. I made them kill a monster.

If I use too much, they feed more.

[They kill him faster.]

[puppy_lancer]

[He closes his eyes and thinks.]

And...what if you die? Or come close to it?

[He has a feeling he might not like this answer.]

[vermicompost]

[There's a long pause from Kariya.]

I'm going to die. I don't know when, but they don't stop once they've started.

[He doesn't like it, and it's difficult. He doesn't want to die, even though he made that choice and it's the only way, now.]

I'll be gone, that's all.

[puppy_lancer]

...No zombies, though, right?

[Because Lancer hates nice people turning into zombies.]

[vermicompost]

No, I'll just die. There won't be anything else.

But that won't be until after I win. [He has to believe that.]

[puppy_lancer]

[He sighs in relief.]

That's good, at least. Well, not that it's good that you'll die. But at least it ends with death.

[vermicompost]

I know. [He's not offended.]

I'd rather have it all end when I die than keep living like that. Zouken won't do that to me, at least. I'll stop being useful to him when I'm dead.

[puppy_lancer]

So if anything, he makes an attempt to keep things from getting too convoluted.

[Misaya's father, on the other hand, was already dead by the time of the Fifth War. So why had he insisted on cursing his daughter, when there was no way he could witness her victory?]

[vermicompost]

I just think he doesn't care.

But it's simpler this way. [He turns to look at his hands, so shrunken and wasted. He already looks half dead.]

There are things worse than death, you're right.

[puppy_lancer]

[Kariya is, from outside appearances, the worst magical mishap Lancer has seen, bar Misaya's zombie. Even when Misaya died, she wasn't half so withered or scarred.]

If I had my way, then death would be the end for everyone. It's the way this world is supposed to be, right? And yet all these magi fucking around with the rules...

[vermicompost]

[Kariya knows what he's been made into, but there's nothing he can do about that now. At least he's still himself, in part.]

That's how it should be, yes. I don't want to die, but it's better than the alternative.

That's right, those magi are selfish and greedy. And cruel.

[puppy_lancer]

[He sighs, and stretches.]

Man, how did this conversation turn depressing again?