you should smile, little thing

[infesting]

Characters: au kariya & open.
Setting: out & about. .. ngl he's probs lost.
Format: i action-spam, but feel free to reply in prose if that's more comfortable for you.
Summary: this is one upset little body horror.
Warnings: body.. horror via worm infestation?

[ waking up in a strange place when he'd just been with lancelot had been not only jarring, but extremely upsetting. he'd spent the first few minutes in a terrified haze, vainly searching the room for his servant. he can't sense him anymore, though the seal remains on the back of his right hand. so.. shouldn't that mean he's still here? he'd said he wouldn't leave kariya. he'd sworn it, that he'd be by his side as long as he could.

that had been before saber, though. before he realized he'd have to fight his king for the grail. that he'd have to choose between her and a little boy he barely knew. maybe.. maybe he'd made his decision.

there are letters, but kariya can't focus to read them right now. he's upset and frightened and he hurts. he always hurts these days. father says the pain is a good thing, that it means the crest worms are making him stronger, to take care of his family. kariya doesn't understand it, of course, but if it's what father says, then it must be the truth.

father isn't here. lancelot is gone, father is gone, and kariya is all alone in a strange place and he doesn't know what to do.

he has the presence of mind to fold up the letter, tucking it into a pocket. he slips out, then, little bare feet silent on the floor. he has no idea where he is, and there are rooms everywhere, and stairs, and-- he has no idea where he should go or where he should begin looking. surely, after all, this is a test. father likes testing him. so.. so he can't cry, because crying doesn't do any good. and anyway, it always makes father angry. instead, he takes a deep breath, picks a direction, and starts walking.


residents of the tower may later find a small, white-haired boy with an eyepatch and bare feet wandering the various halls and rooms. ]

Comments

[looselips]

[Automatically, Shinji looks downward when Kariya does. He hadn't paid any particular attention to his hand before, but now that he does, the red mark of the Command Seal is obvious. That gives Shinji pause; he had thought maybe Kariya was just younger at first, but if there's that mark on his hand...]

Are you a Master?

[He just out-and-out asks the question without any particular thought.]

...Yeah, I guess I have. [He shrugs, trying to seem nonchalant about that answer.] It's been a few months, anyway. I haven't exactly kept track. There are people have been here longer than I have, though.

Do you want to see if we can find Ka— You know, the other one?

[He's actually trying to be helpful, in his way, but he doesn't really know what to do...]

[infesting]

[ at the question, he offers a small, wary nod. there's no point in hiding it here, especially not from another matou. ] Lancer is my Servant. He's not.. here, though.

[ a few months? the war will be over by then if he's stuck here that long. still.. if there's another 'him' here, one who's been here a while, maybe he knows more about it..

after a moment, he offers another nod. ] I guess so.

[looselips]

[Shinji makes a face as Kariya says Lancer.]

There are a couple of Lancers here. I couldn't tell you whether or not one of them belonged to you, though.

[Seeing as he is...not on good terms with either of them, hence the face.]

[Kariya's agreement is met with a short nod. Shinji doesn't attempt to take Kariya's hand again, instead just jerking his head in the direction he means to go.]

Let's check his room first.

[infesting]

[ a couple? ] He's not. I can't sense him at all. What do you mean by a couple..?

[ still, as shinji starts forward, he follows obediently, hands curling in his shirt again as he glances from room to room curiously. this place is huge. ]

[looselips]

I mean there's more than one of them. Second Magic, remember? Different Wars, different Servants, blah blah blah.

[Shinji is the best at answering questions.]

There might be one that you know, even if he doesn't know you. And, hey, maybe you can even find yourself a new Servant if it comes down to it.

[infesting]

[ he shakes his head, ringers rubbing the seal again. ]

Father's not here to tell me to, and if I don't have to, I-- I don't think I want another one. [ only lancelot. of course, he supposes that might change if he's stuck here a while, or if it becomes apparent that lancelot won't come back to him. ]

[looselips]

[Hm.]

Okay, let me put it another way. There's no War here, but it's dangerous. People die here. Unless you have some way to defend yourself, you'll be a lot better off with a Servant.

[infesting]

.. I'm a magus. [ he lifts his palm, expression going a little blank as something shifts beneath his skin, pushing against it. ] I didn't.. spend all that time in the basement just to be weak at the end.

[ he closes his fingers around his palm again, letting his arm drop to his side as he ducks his head. ]

I'll.. be okay.

[looselips]

[STOPS]

[TURNS AROUND]

Alright. So tell me what you can do.

[He just wants someone to teach him proper magecraft okay.]

[infesting]

I-- [ he pauses, looking a little startled. ] Mostly I use my insects. Father taught me all the basic things, though.

[looselips]

Well, the basics are better than nothing. [There is the smallest of pauses before Shinji says:] Teach me.

[It doesn't sound like a request.]

[infesting]

R-Right now?! [ there's no way he can right now. but then, he thinks maybe shinji just means.. eventually? ] I-- I need time. Maybe.. in a few days..?

[looselips]

I don't care when, so long as we get started soon. I just need a teacher.

[The usual flippancy carried in his tone is completely gone.]

What do you want me to pay you with?

[infesting]

[ he offers a small shake of his head. ]

I.. don't need payment. You're a Matou. I'm happy to teach you. But.. unless you have the Crest Worms, there are some things you won't be able to do, I guess.

[looselips]

That's fine. I don't need them. [Because he's a genius. In any case, he holds out a hand toward Kariya.] We have a deal?

[infesting]

[ he stares at the hand for a moment, but then nods, hesitantly taking it in his own. ]

Uh-huh. .. How come no one's ever taught you before? Does Father not exist there..?

[looselips]

[Bluntly:] I don't have a father, and old world magecraft died out decades ago. It'd be kind of hard to use when there's no mana, don't you think?

[infesting]

.. What happened?

[ the thought is so foreign that he can hardly comprehend it. no magecraft? no mana? ]

[looselips]

Dead Apostles screwed everything up for the rest of us.

[He rolls his eyes like this is an inconvenience. Also, he still has Kariya's hand from their handshake, so he starts to pull him toward the other Kariya's room again. (As luck would have that, it's not too far from Shinji's own, either.)]

[infesting]

[ shinji's world makes less sense than even his own does.

he mulls over that thought as the other boy tugs him toward a room, hurrying to make sure he doesn't stumble.

.. this must be the other kariya's room. it's a weird thought, that he'll be meeting.. himself. ]

[looselips]

[It's weird to Shinji, too, in that he isn't really sure how he's supposed to handle the introductions here. It's too late to change his mind, though, so he lifts a hand and pounds on the door as loudly as his little fist can manage.]

[vermicompost]

[Kariya, as it so happens, is in his room, and Lancelot isn't. He often leaves to fight monsters and patrol the tower when Kariya is safely asleep. He never sleeps deeply, so he rouses himself at once at the sound of the knocking. His roommates don't need to knock, so it must be someone coming to visit--although who they're visiting, he's not sure. His other roommates aren't as given to sleeping in the middle of the day.]

I'm coming.

[And he opens the door a few moments later, looking down at the two boys. He smiles, glad to find Shinji on the other side.]

Shinji, it's good to see--

[When he gets a good look at the other boy, his smile doesn't fade at all, but he blinks in confusion.]

Oh. Hello.

[He doesn't understand, his thought processes curtailed as usual--that looks like him, but if he's so young, why is he in that condition?]

[looselips]

[Shinji doesn't bother with a greeting. Instead, he grumbles, feeling awkward for reasons he is both consciously and unconsciously aware of.]

I found this and thought you might have a better idea of what to do about it.

[infesting]

[ he stares up at the grown-up in surprise and confusion. this is definitely some strange second magic. it's him, but he's an adult. he looks like he's in worse shape, too.

maybe that's how he'll look in a few years.

realizing he's staring, he ducks his head, fingers twisting in his shirt, good eye fixed instead on his feet. ]

I-- I didn't know you were a grown-up.

[vermicompost]

Shinji... [But he doesn't want to reprimand him, and he's gotten used to Shinji's manners. He knows Shinji was trying to do the right thing, which is sweet of him.] I see. That was a good idea.

[This isn't his first time seeing another version of himself, but the other Kariya had been quite different than this. He sinks down, lowering himself to the other Kariya's level. He's still not sure why he has crest worms inside him if he's so young--it's a terrible, sad idea--but it's no reason to be anything less than kind to him.]

Yes, I am. It's nice to meet you, Kariya.