[OPEN] Well, look what the cat dragged in.

[canofworms]

Characters: Kariya Matou [AU4] & ALL THE PEOPLE
Setting: Dorms, Various Floors, Choose Your Own Adventure
Format: Any!
Summary: +1 flailing bug magus. Does it count if 'he' is already here?
Warnings: Fate/BUGS


This man, wherever you meet him, may look just the littlest bit familiar. Maybe it's in the hair, or the slightly gloomy look on his face, or even the rumpled turtleneck he's wearing.

Not many will recognize him as the Matou he is, though, unless he has his insect familiars out. His hair and eye (the working one) are a deep purple, and the prana rolling off him in warning waves is no longer a hallmark of the clan.

Now who could this be?



[Dormitory Floor: Room 1-16]

[Hey, folks, you may or may not have an extra body in here. Don't worry, it's wiggling and quite lively.

Click.

If not for the minor commotion of him going through his trunk, you probably wouldn't notice he's here; his clothes and hair are dark enough that he gets lost in the shadows quite easily. The slant of his shoulders is wary. There's a metallic glint in his hands.

Nothing to see here: just a magus loading a handgun.

(Unless that's a nice bulky camera in his hands, but in that case he's just taking a picture of the wall. So productive!)]



[F1: Cafeteria]

[New arrivals season! There are like a million of them here making faces at their oatmeal. You could probably fill an album with the variety. Maybe decorate each floor of the Tower with a different expression of disgust.

This guy would make a pretty boring picture, though, since he's sitting there with absolutely no trace of feeling on his face as he mechanically brings the spoon to his mouth. In fact, his eyes are closed.

Is he sleep-eating or just trying to find a safe space away from the mush??]



[F20: Outside]

[It's fairly chilly out here, but the thin shadow of a man standing about halfway up the ramp, carelessly at the very edge, doesn't seem to notice. He's strangely silhouetted, staring expressionlessly over the edge.

If you come in close enough, you'll realize that those strange irregularities and bumps in his figure are actually countless large, skeletal, demon-eyed insects perched on his shoulders and arms, crawling clumsily in their attempt to keep their foothold in the wind.

Every now and then, he'll raise a hand, and one or two of them will obediently go walking off into the air. They go plummeting downwards until not a trace is left, and leave him looking a little more frustrated each time.

In the meantime, that shadow in the fog behind him may or may not be something sneaking up on him. Or your eyes are just playing tricks on you.]



[F??: Choose Your Own Adventure]

[Any floor, any time, any bug flavor!

There's a rather surly-looking guy pacing up and down the place, muttering angrily to himself and occasionally raising a hand to swat at the two Blade Wing Worms buzzing along behind him whenever they hover in too close.

It's a little hard to tell whether the familiars are actually worried about their master or just trying to get close enough to chomp on his hair.]

If you're not going to make yourselves useful, go chew on each other or something. I don't care.

Comments

[canofworms]

Likewise. [He's warming to the boy, despite the strange aura that still hangs about him. It probably doesn't hold a candle to however Kariya's magic appears to other people; he tries not to think about that.]

Magic, yes. That's how they're summoned.

[It's unsurprising that this strange tower would hold strange people who have encountered magic (though perhaps not the particulars), though he wouldn't have expected one so young to know much of it.

He lowers his arm, and the Worm returns to the air. They watch Sephiroth in return, magical appetites reacting to a potential source of power.]

You'll be all right here?

[It's more confirmation than anything; the boy obviously knows the danger, but Kariya is curious as to why he would be alone here.]

[pinnaculum]

I understand. We have creatures like that in my world. They are called summon spirits, but they don't stay. They perform a task and leave.

[It's not exactly the same, no, but the comparison makes some sense to Sephiroth. At least they're comparable to something he knows. He wonders if these familiars can be killed, and if so, how. Not that he would attack them unprovoked. He continues to watch the insects curiously before fixing his gaze on Kariya again.]

I will be fine. I won't stay here. I patrol all the floors. [No big deal, just protecting all the people, killing monsters, having a good time, with absolutely zero adult supervision.]

[canofworms]

There are some Spirits in my world like that, too.

[He doesn't think the Heroic Spirits are exactly analogous, since they too appear and disappear at will; unless you take the Holy Grail War as a whole. He'd wondered to himself whether the system were kinder or crueler that way, before the end of the Fourth War.

He frowns at Sephiroth's reply, something in it definitely disquieting to him.]

You seem to know your way around. But do you always patrol alone?

[The quiet confidence to the child, the weapon too big for him, his strange aura -- there are certain things Kariya won't question, but he'll still be concerned. That's just the way he's built.]

[pinnaculum]

I have met some people here who are summon spirits, but they are different than the ones in my world, as they remain longer. What are the ones in your world like?

I have been studying the Tower since I arrived.

I have had comrades here, but I patrol alone. [He would accept a comrade's company, but no one has offered to accompany him.]

[canofworms]

They're a little like that, and a little like the ones in your world. They're only in the world for a limited amount of time.

[His frown grows more pronounced the longer Sephiroth goes on -- the boy is obviously earnest about whatever he thinks his duty in this tower is, but...]

You already know the danger, so you should know there are some things you can't always deal with alone. [It's just a little reproachful; he's a firm believer in the idea that power and intelligence shouldn't be an excuse for everything.] Why do you patrol, Sephiroth?

[pinnaculum]

Why is their time limited? What do they do?

[Curious as he is, Sephiroth usually has a follow up question or two.]

The Tower is dangerous, but I am well-trained in many forms of combat. I am capable of operating independently in the field.

["Well trained in many forms of combat" and "capable of operating independently in the field" are woodenly practiced sentences, as if he's repeating something he's heard before, which is, in fact, the case.

As for Kariya's question... He wants to be a SOLDIER, but SOLDIER was disbanded, frustratingly. Still, he can be as like a SOLDIER as possible. To serve as heroes of the people... That's what SOLDIER did. Well, according to the propaganda, at least.]

Because it is my duty as a soldier to protect the populace.

[A child soldier: everyone's favorite thing.]

[canofworms]

They're called for a single contest. To fight for a miracle.

[He doesn't see the need to go into detail; that will only lead to headaches for all parties anyway, because he isn't all that fond of talking about the Holy Grail War and wouldn't be the best person to explain it.

There are more important things, anyway: the dullness in Sephiroth's voice when he answers makes Kariya shake his head -- he knows very well what it sounds like when people (and particularly children) simply repeat what is given to them for lack of anything else. It sounds doubly strange on Sephiroth, who seems so curious about everything else.

But there's a simple explanation, in the end.]

... Who told you that was your duty? Who did that?

[There is a definite edge to his voice, though he manages to keep a lid on the anger for Sephiroth's sake. He's looking for answers, not an outlet for his temper. Not right now.]

[pinnaculum]

Is it the War of Masters and Servants?

[Having met a number of Masters and Servants in the Tower, Sephiroth has more than passing familiarity with the Grail War at this point, even though he has his own name for it. Sephiroth thinks the Masters and especially the Servants, are more interesting than any (suspect) wish granting object. The Servants can summon weapons and armor, and they're powerful fighters. If he died, he would want to return to life as a hero and do battle again.

Sephiroth's pupils narrow to slits, catlike. He doesn't catch the edge in Kariya's voice, being somewhat short on empathy, but the question does inspire an emotional response in him, even if his only physical reaction is that faint one.]

I have chosen my duty here, but my primary purpose is combat.

["Primary purpose is combat" is another practiced, repeated phrase.]

I was trained under the care of Shinra's Science Research Department.

[canofworms]

... Correct.

[He's displeased, that's for sure, that the War has been leaked here -- but with the number of Masters and Servants supposedly trapped in the tower, it would be more of a wonder if it weren't. Kariya has no interest in the prestige of the magi who protect their trade secrets, but learning the secrets of magecraft rarely leads to good results for anyone else.

Granted, Sephiroth isn't ordinary.

He lets out a breath like it's been punched out of him at the words 'Science Research Department'. He doesn't expect humans to be saints; as a reporter, he's personally seen a few hair-raising examples of what humanity can do even without magic to aid their darker impulses. He's not ignorant of it.

He still doesn't have to like it.]

You shouldn't talk about yourself like that. Choice is important, but it's important to make them with a true purpose in mind. No one is made for combat, Sephiroth.

[During his urgent little speech, Kariya has approached the boy standing at the edge of the floor; he crouches in front of him to better convey his words.]

[pinnaculum]

I have spoken to some participants. Diarmuid and Lancer and Lancelot.

[Those fighters had impressed him the most.]

Are you a Master?

[Because he doesn't look like a fighter, and Sephiroth has come to associate Servants with fighters.

Sephiroth considers Kariya seriously before responding, meeting his gaze with his own bright eyes.]

I enjoy fighting. It is what I am best at. I am genetically enhanced. My speed, strength and agility are all much greater than that of any average human.

[What else would he be, if not a soldier?]

[canofworms]

I was a Master, but it was a long time ago.

[It's not really something he talks about anymore -- if he lived long enough, maybe some of the battles could have become a wild tale for Rin and Sakura's children, carefully excised from their origin and refashioned to the point of being unrecognizable.

It's a good thought. He isn't quite ready to tell those stories, though, for all the Tower seems intent on prying them loose.

(Lancelot had given his true name to a child -- that's something to consider -- or maybe it's just a knight thing.)]

... So that's what it is. [His temper is ebbing, a little, as he thinks. He doesn't have the whole picture, but he thinks he can guess at it. Sephiroth seems free with information.] Listen. Doing what you do best or easiest is one thing, but you should explore everything else, too. While you still can.

[Ah, he's sounding his age now. Can't be helped.]

[pinnaculum]

Did you win?

[It's a simple, direct question. The outcome of a battle: that's what matters, isn't it?]

I was the property of Shinra Electric Company, but the Science Research Department was destroyed, and the researchers are all dead now. [He relates this fact as easily as if he were talking about the weather. He's still not exactly sure how they all died...] Now I am under the care of Mr. Valentine, but he is not here.

[Meaning that, officially speaking, Sephiroth doesn't have to listen to any other authority.]

I am also interested in science, and I am good at it. I have been reading many of the books in the library. Maybe I will be a researcher and a soldier.

If I return home, I will work for the WRO, although they say I am not yet old enough. [Ridiculous, obviously, his tone seems to suggest.] Here I have been patrolling to protect people.

[canofworms]

No, I didn't. The War was flawed, so no one could win.

[Isn't it the nature of war, though, that no one truly wins? He wouldn't know -- he's only been in the one type of war. He's doing his best not to overcomplicate it, though it's a very complicated thing.]

You are your own person now, even if you're under someone else's care. [He feels it's important to establish that. He's not so much trying to establish authority as trying to establish an understanding.]

It's good to have ambition, though having two jobs is tough. You don't have to think about jobs for a while yet, even if you're getting a lot of experience. Can you tell me more about the WRO?

[pinnaculum]

I thought that was the case. A wish granting device is possible but not plausible.

[Sephiroth doesn't feel superior, but he feels satisfied to be right, as he had skeptically asked some of the others whether the Grail could really grant wishes. Their answers had not satisfied him, as they had seen no proof. Sephiroth needs proof.

Not that Sephiroth doesn't like war, because he does. He was made for it.]

If you fought with honor, then it does not matter. [That's what Lancelot had said when Sephiroth had asked him about the Grail, and Sephiroth had been impressed by the man, so it seems like a good opinion to adopt. Honor... there's something he should remember about that, isn't there?]

Yes, I know. Mr. Valentine has not given me any orders, but I am not allowed to travel by myself. Or to read all the books, like I am here.

[Mr. Valentine doesn't talk much in general, not that Sephiroth minds. And here, he has absolutely no supervision, which is its own kind of fun.]

I could have two jobs. I am already ready to work. I am working here. [Who needs play?]

The WRO is the World Regenesis Organization. My world was almost destroyed recently, and the WRO is rebuilding and protecting the people. Mr. Valentine, Mr. Strife, and Mr. Highwind all help the WRO.

[canofworms]

... This wasn't that kind of fight, Sephiroth. [The concepts of honor and glory can only make him laugh whether they're connected to the Grail War or not, but he refrains for the boy's sake.] There wasn't honor in it. But you don't have to worry about it -- the device, the Grail, isn't here.

[He's quiet for a moment, trying to put together the puzzle that is Sephiroth's situation. If their world was on the brink of destruction, then perhaps Sephiroth's origin in a lab isn't so surprising.

It's not surprising, but he doesn't have to like it, or any of its implications.]

It does sound like important work, but they're not here at the moment. For now, you should focus on staying safe, too, so you can go back to them. [Even if he's starting to think this boy might be better off here.] If Mr. Valentine isn't here, then whose care are you under?

[pinnaculum]

No honor? [That seems familiar too, somehow...] What kind of fight was it? I'm not worried.

[Sephiroth's expression is only neutral, curious.]

I would like to fight in a war.

[If only Kariya knew that he was speaking to what almost destroyed the world. But even Sephiroth doesn't know that.]

In the absence of Mr. Valentine, I am operating independently in the field. [Awwww yes, no adult supervision whatsoever. No rules.]

[canofworms]

You don't want a war -- it's the kind of fight that doesn't help anyone at all.

[Even as he says it he wonders if it will get through. The child wants to be a soldier, after all. Kariya can't quite stop himself from saying it, though, all the same.

(It's a little difficult to judge someone else for unwittingly nearly destroying the world when you yourself are in the same boat.)]

... You're not a soldier yet, you know. [He's not sure whether to laugh or just rail at the Tower for how little it does for its children, however strange they might be.] If the people you know aren't here, you should find new people to rely on -- that's also an important skill.