thenearshore | The Memoryless King.

[Even before the Sword made its appearance that night, Reisi felt Suoh’s presence the same way he usually does: through the destructive power that matches his own. But until now, it’s always been something just beneath the surface. Feeling the power increasing deeply concerns Reisi, and seeing the Red Sword is equally disquieting, especially in its condition.

The Sword’s presence makes him feel like responding with his own, which seems like a completely irrational and dangerous idea... while he could even think, that is. Because once it’s there, hovering in the sky, Reisi finds himself completely incapable of thinking about their powers, the Swords, or anything related to that without feeling a revolting wave of sickness unlike any he’s ever felt before.

So rather than responding to the Sword or trying to find answers, Reisi throws himself into assisting others as best he can.

It’s only after Suoh withdraws his power that Reisi seeks him out for discussion.]

As you might already know, we need to talk, Suoh.

[Reisi’s expression is much like from that night he’s forgotten, when he told Suoh to leave the school, to allow him to handle Tatara’s killer, and to step down as a King. The night that he tried to reason with Suoh to save his life.]

[ Mikoto is seated on a bench away from the rest of the festivities beneath the moonlight. He's hunched over, a cigarette tucked between his lips as he stares at the pond of water a few feet away from his feet. He felt the Munakata approach him. Pfft. How could he not? So, he stayed. Knowing he'd track him down anyways. ]

What do you want.

[Shortly after Obon, Reisi finally decides to properly relax at home in Nekhbet's temple. Instead of staying up in his uniform from home, he's dressed in a simple yukata as he dumps some puzzle pieces onto the floor and then seats himself seizei beside the pile.

For a brief moment, he closes his eyes before picking up a single piece and holding it out in front of his face, then carefully placing it down. He does the same with another piece, only it's completely unrelated to the first piece and so goes down in another place. To anyone else, it might look like he's just randomly putting the pieces down, but even without having done the puzzle before, he knows where the pieces should go. This becomes more obvious as he picks up the pace, quickly placing pieces down one by one, smaller clusters coming together to form an image.

There's some movement nearby, but Reisi isn't especially worried.]

Good evening, Kurosaki-san.

[Maintaining perfect posture, he glances up at his god.]

How are you this evening?

[While Shun doesn't exactly pry into the hobbies and relaxation habits of his shinki, he can't really help but pause to observe Reisi at work here. Doing a puzzle that size strikes him as not most people's idea of relaxing, but then, Reisi pretty clearly isn't "most people" for a variety of reasons.

Shun does need to talk to him, though. It's been on his mind since talking to Fubuki over a week ago, but what he learnt talking to Mikoto and Tatara during Obon has just made it more urgent. So after a vaguely positive-sounding hum in answer to the question, hopefully enough to indicate "not bad", Shun seats himself somewhere beyond the edges of the puzzle. As ever, he's not the sort to ease into the subject, instead just going straight into it as if they'd only just finished a different conversation about it.]

I talked to Suoh and Totsuka the other day. So there's some groundwork I need to lay out here, for working together in future.

[He's tried to be responsible with this from the start, but Shun's volatility is something that needs to be out on the table for future reference, as far as he's concerned.]

[Reisi moves to face Suoh but remains standing, still wearing a serious expression.]

I want answers, which I recognize you're not always the most forthcoming with. However, given the situation—my being a shinki while you are a god—navigating the discussion I wish to have would be understandably difficult.

[He exhales in annoyance before reaching into his pocket to pull out some Blue Sparks.]

So at least answer if you've spoken with my god, Nekhbet. [Here, he shakes out a cancer stick before continuing for clarification.] You might know him as Shun Kurosaki.

[ He makes a face, already annoyed by all long-winded explanation but he lets him finish. ]

....

[ He blows out a stream of spoke. ]

You're both drone on like an irritating buzz.

[ So, yes, he did speak to him. ]

[Regardless of Suoh's annoyance, Reisi can't help feeling somewhat relieved.]

Then, am I correct in assuming you told him a little bit about my power?

[Our powers, he wants to say, but while their powers are well-matched, they're not really the same. He doesn't know that Suoh would really bother explaining his own powers, if asked.]

[ He shrugs. So what. He's the one that asked. ]

You're the one who transferred it to him.

[Having told Kurosaki that Suoh recognizes and knows Reisi from his past, Reisi had expected as much. After having wielded his blue powers, it's only natural that Kurosaki would want to know more.

Surely Suoh realized that much. He's hardly a fool, at least in that regard.]

There was no real way of knowing what would happen when he called me into vessel form. Thus far, I've seen no reason to use that much power myself.

... How much do you know about what I'm capable of?

[Without his memories, Reisi doesn't have any of the knowledge bestowed by the Dresden Slate. He doesn't know about Kings, Swords, or Clansmen, let alone the full extent of his powers or the fatal consequences that come with them. But he knows he has to be careful of what he learns and how he learns it, lest he fall.]

[ He lets out another stream of smoke. ]

Aren't you supposed to stay away from your past.

That's why I'm not asking about it. I'm asking about my power, and how much you know about it.

[As of now, he doesn't have that same sick feeling from earlier, when the Sword was hovering above the sun god's head. But how long will that last?]

Are those things so inextricably tied to each other?

[Kurosaki's response is as much as Reisi had expected—a hum to indicate he's more or less as usual, and then seating himself to show that he wants to talk. By now, Reisi's quite familiar with his god's habits and mannerisms. The next logical and natural progression is to directly get down to business, which Kurosaki sets to straight away.

Reisi gives a soft and pleasant smile, as if the topic at hand weren't quite so dire.]

Indeed. I'd heard that you'd spoken with Suoh. [After all, Reisi had also spoken with the reincarnated sun god.

He holds another piece before his eyes, examining it carefully before glancing past it to study his god's face.]

It seems he and Totsuka-san have given you some insight on my power. That said, I'm all ears for whatever groundwork you feel needs establishing.

[Though Shun still doesn't really like it, he's not surprised that Reisi went to speak to Mikoto himself. Given the draw of that red sword, it would've been borderline impossible to suppress the urge. So he just inclines his head somewhat reluctantly in confirmation.

It's another few moments before he elaborates.] Totsuka in particular gave me a few things to think about. So I thought I should...warn you.

[There's really no other way to put it, and Shun lets out a sharp breath in apparent preparation. To adequately explain this, he's probably going to have to dip a bit into his past at some point, even if it's not quite yet.]

You've told me to be calm and do what's right with your powers. I intend to. But I also know I'm volatile with the right pressures. I want to minimise any risk of that affecting either of us, so I want to discuss with you what situations we agree are best for me to use your vessel form in.

[He never planned to use the powers lightly, but if Shun can agree now that he won't use them in combat with another person, it could take a lot of risk out of the equation.]

[Once the god is finished speaking, Reisi pauses his work on the puzzle before fixing the younger man with a peaceful, composed expression. Reisi's not exactly surprised about this, but still...

Placing his hands on his lap,] I understand.

However, I admit I can't be completely certain of exactly what conditions might affect any given scenario on my part.

[Though he's going to try to consider all possibilities as hard as anyone who doesn't really have any memories possibly can.]

So, could you give me a little background regarding the sorts of pressures that might affect you or your judgment?

[ He didn't know him before his powers, so to him - ]

They're one and the same thing.

[Shun just nods a little when he mentions his uncertainty. Shun considers himself to have enough information to at least guess at what would be a problem, so hopefully he can work around it well enough to satisfy both of them.

He considers the question for a moment before he answers, largely to decide what he should prioritise.] The biggest one is people close to me getting hurt, which is also the one that has the highest chance of happening in the middle of a fight. I retaliate with the same level of force if whoever did it is lucky. If they're not...

[It's probably time to explain the background he's coming from, and he lets out a breath.] My hometown was invaded and destroyed a few years ago. Most of the people who lived there are dead now. I'm used to kill or be killed, and things like that make it harder to control my reactions.

[In his frustration, Reisi reaches to grab Suoh by the shirt collar.]

So you won't even answer that much? [There's an urgent irritation, a desperation that Suoh might find familiar in his voice.]

[He's quiet at first, allowing the god to speak at length.

The weight of the god's words isn't lost on Reisi. Nor is it surprising that Kurosaki could and would retaliate against anyone who hurts those close to him because that's a natural human reaction. It's even more understandable given the context of invasion, of war.

Reisi doesn't know whether he's personally experienced it, but he knows it's a loathsome and disgusting thing. People justify war in may ways, but the reality is that there's no order when it comes to war. In and of itself, war destroys the very thing Reisi strives to protect.

So where most people might retaliate as soon as possible, Reisi would maintain his composure as much as possible and bide his time in properly dispensing justice.

Appearing unusually serious for himself, he raises his hand to pinch his chin and leans his elbow on the other hand after crossing his arm over his chest.]

I see—that's quite the dilemma. [After closing his eyes for a moment,] It's deeply tragic hearing about your hometown and loved ones. Though I now can better understand your perspective on things.

[He rubs his chin as he thinks.]

...Still, I can't think of any 100% fool-proof means of utilizing my vessel form.

[Shun, for his part, seems relatively comfortable with that information being on the table. It's not something he really likes breaking for the first time, but Reisi's been around for a good few weeks now, and it was going to come up one way or another. Since that happens to have been now, Shun has no problem with having aired the facts and cleared things up a bit for him.

He does still nod in agreement with Reisi's last remark, though. A solution like that wasn't what he was expecting out of this conversation, though it would be nice if it was that easy.]

No, but we can reduce the risks as much as possible. I already figured it would be best to leave it to occasions where large numbers of lives are at risk - not only is the power too strong to really need for anything less than that, that sword draws a hell of a lot of attention. But I was thinking if we have another incident where there's both humans and ayakashi behind it, it might be best to hold off on it as well.

[A power to protect, not to destroy, Totsuka had said. In that case, it was best not to give Shun the opportunity to try to kill someone with it at all.]

[Listening to the god's words, Reisi is calm and poised as he thinks.]

I agree. Moreover, it appears that the true asset of being summoned into vessel form is its rending capability.

[After all, Reisi has access to the same powers when he isn't in vessel form. The Sword only made its appearance when Kurosaki used Reisi as a vessel. This can only mean that even in his memoryless state, Reisi has precision control over his immense powers.]

It makes the most sense not to use my vessel form unless it's necessary, as well in situations posing great risk not only to humans but other gods and shinki.

[Though those risks always exist so far as Reisi's concerned, but there's no point in really mentioning that.]

Therefore, use of my vessel form might best be limited to instances where I'm the only one available to rend ayakashi... Wouldn't you agree?

[That gets a short nod of confirmation from Shun. Generally speaking, Reisi keeping his powers to himself is far more advantageous in a normal fight, considering he has that instinctive sense of how to use them and doesn't bring out the sword when he does. Rending capability is the only reason to ever hand them over. Considering it seems Reisi's come to the same conclusion as he has on reserving the power for necessary situations, he doesn't feel the need to remark on that, but he's definitely ready to agree on that last point.]

Definitely. If you're not the only one there, it's useful to have that power available to weaken and distract the ayakashi while I work with Fubuki to get rid of it, like we did with that masked one. It's less dangerous and draws less attention.

[Even before he learnt more about these powers, the fact of the sword having been present at Reisi's death already unsettled him about its appearances. Now, he'll take just about any excuse he can to not have it appear. For all Mikoto was warning him against using the power at all, there's already one sword here in that terrible state that seemed to have prompted Reisi's death, and it isn't the blue one. He'd prefer it stays that way.]

The Memoryless King.

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