Redemption Through Chaos

[moonlitknight]

Who: Zero + Sherly
What: Zero returns from the dead and comes across one of his vampire victims. Things don't end well for him...
When: May 17
Where: The Farshore
Warnings: Sherly is upset. Violence.


'Memory loss? Who the Hell are you kidding? It's not like that. How could you allow your memories to be stolen?'

He woke up in a temple with Kaito's last words echoing through his mind. The vampires had attacked the Mansion and Kaito had shoved him out of the way taking a hit meant for him. Zero held him as he bled through, while the beasts surrounded them and then--

Nothing.

He was here, in this... where was he? And then a single memory bloomed through the chaos. He'd been here before... a godless shinki. He couldn't remember anything specific but the feeling of being abandoned. But then... what had happened? Why did he regain his memories? And then, the messenger of the Heavens arrived.

They explained his new god-hood along with his powers, but Zero couldn't accept it. He was no god made from human wishes. No one would wish for something like him and why would they suddenly turn a shinki into a god? It made no sense! But, the messenger was insistent waving off his objections before leaving him alone in his new home.

Zero didn't stay and was soon outside his temple walls heading into the forest in search of...

He came to a stop amid the trees, his feet no longer moving as he looked up at the moon unsure where to even begin. The messenger.... what had they called him?

"Hades."

Comments

[galactically]

Yesterday had been a day filled with relief efforts, which was not unusual for a woman who'd taken part of them before like Sheryl. She sang for the children at the hospital, fed the hungry with the sandwiches she made on a short notice, and used her basic first-aid skills to clean up and bandage any wounds to the best of her abilities. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best; it was a saying that she kept in mind for that day.

But aside from a few complications (plus meeting with a man who suspiciously resembled her attacker, how awkward), Sheryl had a relatively good time.

There was a certain confidence to the way she strolled right past a temple like she owned the path her feet just stepped on, a melodic hum emitting in her throat. Whatever transpired a few weeks ago were something she'd dig a hole for, then bury it into the proverbial ground. Sheryl Nome couldn't afford to make herself that vulnerable again, she wouldn't. She was stronger than that; Eno, Zoro, and Hajime all reminded her.

The humming abruptly stopped as she turned a corner to spot a silver-haired man amidst the trees, and suddenly her body turned rigid upon the sight. She gasped, lifting up a hand to cover her mouth. Wait, it couldn't be...

[moonlitknight]

The sound rang through the night pulling him from his thoughts as he turned his head in her direction. He didn't recognize her, but then he couldn't remember anything about this place. It was just like when he'd woken up from the coma, his memories had all been jumbled and even now he couldn't make sense of so many things.

Smoke and mirrors.

Either way, he needed answers and this was as good a place as any to start, and so he turned in her direction, his pace even as he approached.

[galactically]

The short hair, the tattoo on his neck, those sharp eyes — there was no mistaking it this time around. The man that stood several feet away from her and he was now taking his steps towards her.

She remembered the negative feelings that coursed through her on that day: disgust, anger, fear, distress, sometimes all of them combined into one giant mess. One thing was certain, there was also hate. Hate. Hate for what he tried to do to her, hate for hurting one of her closest friends. It wasn't quite the same kind of hate as she felt towards the woman who gloated about her dying back in Frontier, but boy was it close.

Fury slowly crept up in the way she glared at him as she straightened her posture, eyes narrowing a little as she curled one of her hands inward.

"Don't you dare take a step closer," Sheryl warned, an icy tone etched into the words out of her mouth. "You disgusting monster!"

[moonlitknight]

Surprise flickered across his face, eyes going wide as that line effectively stopped him in his tracks. What-- Who was she?! And how did she know--

"You... know me?"

[galactically]

"I wish I hadn't," Sheryl responded, her voice turning a little venomous as she kept her feet grounded, fighting the urge to run away. No, she had powers of her own; of course she wouldn't turn tail and leave. It wasn't under she heard Zero's baffled question that she looked at him in sheer disbelief.

She scoffed, "don't act like you don't know me! I saw you weeks ago! And so did my shinki!"

[moonlitknight]

He stares at her, his mind trying to make sense of her words. Weeks ago? Was that when...

"I was a shinki back then..."

He looks at her, really looks at her. The long hair, the tall figure. He has a feeling he should know her, and yet...

"Who are you?"

He shakes his head that's not what he wanted to know. After the meeting with the gods that morning, Zero knows shinki's shouldn't have any memories of their life before the FarShore but this is different. He wasn't a shinki anymore. He should have all his memories, then why-- Why couldn't he remember?

"We met before." That much he could surmise. "When I was a shinki."

[galactically]

'Shinki back then.' That phrasing alone would've been baffling enough, but the cordial tone that Zero was using caught Sheryl off-guard. She had gained enough experiences with friends being either a god or a shinki, dying, then reviving with no memories of their prior stay (even forgetting all about her; that was dreadful enough) that it shouldn't be too much of a surprise. Still, her eyes widened in alarm for a moment before she pushed it aside.

"Sheryl Nome," she responded, still keeping her sharp tone intact. "And yourself?"

If he introduced himself, she could at least put a name to her attacker at last. Her hand slipped inside her purse to retrieve her smartphone, and for a moment, she mentally thanked Hajime for giving her a picture. A proof was necessary to prove her point.

[moonlitknight]

He doesn't miss the sharp tone in her voice nor the way her hand suddenly disappears inside her purse. His eyes slide back up, face slipping into a neutral tone. He's been among the Hunters and vampires long enough to understand his position. She knows something he doesn't. Something he needs to know.

"Zero." He answers, offering no smile, no hint of kindness behind the light eyes. "Kiryuu Zero."

[galactically]

Oh, how she wanted to hurt him right now, to put him in his place. Sheryl clenched her jaw as she pulled out her smartphone, her fingers already getting to work pressing a few buttons until an image appeared on the screen.

"Aaah, I finally have a name to smear!" She proclaimed, laying the cruel undertone in her voice extra thick. Her blue eyes remained unusually sharp and narrowed.

Spurned by the negative emotions in her, she didn't waste any time turning the smartphone and pointing at the image. Zero would see a picture of himself: blood red eyes, gray hair, pale skin, a tattoo on his neck that glowed just like his eyes.

"My friend gave it to me so I could show it to my other shinki. The same friend that you hurt, you disgusting freak. What's more..."

Sheryl lowered the phone to her side, holding it so tightly that her knuckles turned white. The corners of her lips twisted downward, a deep scowl forming on her face that was already contorted with undeterred disgust. And then, she finally announced, "you assaulted me!"