thenearshore | [Closed] You can't raise hell with a saint

'But that's not what I said, is it?'

[He chuckles a bit, looking down the barrel of the gun as he aims at an ayakashi down below them in the streets.]

'Every other shinki I've named just wants to stay behind in the temple until I force them to go out and kill ayakashi.'

[He fires once, getting the ayakashi's full attention but not killing it.]

'Meanwhile, you're eager. No lies with me, remember.'

[And he takes another shot as the ayakashi in a kind of bizarre monkey shape starts climbing the wall towards them.]

'I'm not lying. How many shinki do you even have?'

[Assuming he keeps them all when he names them. Though he did say that the ritual was lame and he couldn't change it, so maybe he cycles through temporary shinki really fast.

On a different train of thought, guns are really loud and distracting. Wow.]

'Reliable shinki? One other.'

[Which basically answers Riku's question as far as he's concerned.]

'Concentrate on the ayakashi.'

[Because it's coming up for them. He fires and blows another hole straight through a limb, making it disappear into the ether.]

'Strong sucker. Time to finish it. You're going to Rend this thing for me, without me getting too close to it.'

[He jumps backwards about ten feet and aims the barrel of the gun in what to Schuldig looks like its temple, right between two sort of eyeball shapes.]

REND!

'I--huh? I am, just--'

[Shchuldig's the one with the gun, why is the pressure on him for rending the thing, he wants to know. The most he can do is not panic and cause the gun to jam or bullet to miss.

Well, he panics anyway, and the bullet ends up going through one of the eyes instead. It still has a fatal effect, going through the ayakashi and causing it to burst from the inside.]

Edited (html) 2016-12-04 01:32 (UTC)

'Hmph. You need some practice aiming, kid? Or maybe...'

[He aims the gun down toward the street below, at no one in particular. Guy roughly Schuldig's age who's sleeping while sitting up on a bench, waiting at the bus stop.]

'You just miss having a human target to beat up?'

[He brings up the memory of Riku slamming his fists into the kid at the school, then revisits the first time they spoke although Riku's had no idea it was Loki this whole time.]

'I guess I win either way.'

Edited 2016-12-05 02:16 (UTC)

'It's not all my fault, I'm not familiar enough with--'

[He cuts himself off, noticing what Loki's got him pointed at this time.]

'Wh-what?! NO! Don't aim at humans! This isn't even the same thing!'

[Especially innocent ones. He didn't agree to killing people, just ayakashi. But he can't do anything in his current form, except hope that Loki isn't serious and yell at him some more.]

Edited 2016-12-06 03:28 (UTC)

[Schuldig keeps the barrel trained on the man's head, alternating between forehead and neck. He's feeling that sting at the back of his neck for the first time since Sousuke and unlike last time, he's actually getting excited by it. Maybe he's getting somewhere with this kid, pushing him into new territory that would make him even more powerful.]

'Why's that? You had no problems beating up a kid before. What if I aimed at an arm instead?'

[He shifts until he points at a shoulder and upper arm.]

'Or maybe a leg?'

[He shifts again.]

'If humans can become shinki and shinki can become ayakashi... pipe up, what's the difference?'

Edited 2016-12-06 21:15 (UTC)

'It wasn't with a weapon! And at the time, I thought he deserved it.'

[Not that he didn't consider it, if his fists didn't work. He may not be opposed to kicking someone while they're down or bringing a weapon to a fistfight, but the guy down below is a stranger who hasn't done anything worth injuring him over.]

'Not all humans become shinki and not all shinki become ayakashi? I'm not going to lump them all into one pile.'

[Riku Replica has been gone for a while. He said he was only going to step out for a bit, right? Sora is sitting around wondering how long that stepping out is gonna take when suddenly there's a sting against his neck. He winces hard and slaps a hand over his skin.

He gets a decent amount of stings from Riku Replica on the regular... But this is a lot stronger. Something's wrong.

Not as bad as the time Riku Replica got eyes on his skin and Sora nearly collapsed again but...

He's instantly just as worried as that time. He pulls out his phone.]

hey where are you? are you okay?

Edited 2016-12-08 01:25 (UTC)

[Now Schuldig's starting to get worried. He holds up the gun and stares at it -- which, yeah, he's not aiming at the person anymore but it also has the effect of making his glare focus entirely on Riku.]

'What's with this wishy-washy attitude all of a sudden? I thought you came to me because you liked fighting. Don't you want to get stronger?'

[He jumps off to find another ayakashi.]

'You're going to have to get a lot less picky about your targets.'

[Sorry Sora, that text is going to go unanswered, as well as any subsequent texts and phone calls for a bit.]

'I'm not being wishy-washy, I just didn't agree to go after random bystanders.'

[Not that their agreement means much when he can't physically do anything to enforce it...aside from force himself to freak out some more.]

'How's that going to make me stronger?'

[Sora tries a few more texts and when they don't get answers he calls. And even then still no answer. He feels another sting and that makes Sora get up and leave to search for Riku Replica.

Whatever is happening Sora doesn't have a good feeling about it.

He teleports himself to the Near Shore where he might expect to find his shinki. He starts wandering the streets occasionally calling out for him.]

Riku??!

[This is the first time he's gotten stung by any of his shinki with any severity, and really the one from Sousuke had been a brief sting. This is starting to really eat into him and he's starting to dislike it, no matter what he said before. He tells himself it's mainly because of the conversation, not the stinging itself.]

'Are you doing that on purpose now? Stinging me?'

[He glares down at the gun.]

'You've got some nerve for someone who came to me first, acting like that - pulling out of an agreement and stinging me on purpose.'

[Only then does it start to occur to him that getting stung this intensely is bound to alert Baldr too.]

'I--'

[He could say no, though Loki doesn't believe him. Or he could say yes, though that's technically a lie and will sting Loki anyway. Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad idea, though he doesn't want to end up like he did with Sora.]

'You pulled out of the agreement first, I thought you were only going after ayakashi.'

[Loki's looking at his gun form, so the crossed arms and glare are pretty much lost at the back of his head. And speaking of Sora, he's pretty sure he just heard Sora's voice nearby, but he can't see the god anywhere. Has Loki heard him?]

[He’s getting more and more worried. The deep stabbing stings he keeps getting at the back of his neck is alarming. Something is definitely wrong. And he remember the last time Riku Replica had stung him so bad that he grew eyes on his skin and he couldn’t let that happen again. Mostly concern and fear for his shinki drives Sora to keep searching for him.

He rounds the corner to see someone standing there looking irritated with a gun. Sora stares but something about that gun calls out to him.

Sora unfortunately doesn’t know what Loki looks like yet. But he’s got a bad feeling. In any case, someone waving around a gun can’t be good news.]

Hey!! Who are you?

'Pedantic brat, I never should have agreed to--'

[That's exactly what he didn't want. He had no idea how much a different God couldn't handle blighting before coming after their shinki. For his part, Schuldig did feel the stinging - he just didn't care. He'd wash it later. Right now, he was trying to cling a very powerful shinki, and then his first God shows up.

So he wraps Sora's mind in a quick fog -- it may not last long, but it may be enough to get him to turn away. The kid's never seen his face before so he knows that it's all about his voice. Schuldig speaks in Crawford's voice as far as Sora can hear, then taps very quickly into Riku's speech. He has no idea if nora'd shinki can talk to their other gods while in the vessel form belonging to the god wielding them, but he's not about to take chances.]

No one you need to worry about.

[And with that he teleports away, to a nearby rooftop. If Sora wants Riku back, he's not going to make it easy on the other God.]

'You cut this stinging out and maybe we reach a new agreement.'

[Yeah, he really wants to keep that gun.]

[Oh. There Sora was, he was closer than Riku thought. And apparently didn't recognize Loki as indicated by his question. Nor did he seem to realize his shinki was there, or so Riku assumed, since he didn't acknowledge his presence at all.

Did he show up because of the stinging? He'd only meant for it to affect Loki, but it was either that or Sora had tried to get ahold of him for whatever reason and he wasn't answering his phone, so Rlku was going to go with the stinging.

Not that he meant it in the first place. Eventually, but not if it also affected Sora.]

'I'm not a--huh?'

[They suddenly left the vicinity of Sora, thankfully without putting any bullets in said god.]

'I will if you don't point me at anyone else. Or I'll try, anyway.'

Ugh...

[Suddenly the stinging dulls in comparison to what it was before. He rubs the blackness forming at his neck as a fog starts to cloud his head. He shuts his eyes in confusion before he can focus enough to glance around again, alone once more. Who just spoke…?

Sora has a bad feeling about this, and he’s not going to give up until he finds out what’s going on.

He stops rubbing the pain at his neck and tries to wipe the blight from his fingers on his pants before he decides to outright call Riku Replica’s name. If he’s near, the vessel should appear in Sora’s hands instead.]

Okaki!!

[His mind's in overdrive trying to think about how to get himself out of this situation with the precious gun and without Sora noticing, but the blight's distracting him. He's never experienced it from either of his regular shinki, so the strain is palpable for him.

But the blight starts manifesting on the wrist that's holding the gun.]

'Cut it out, I said...'

[But Schuldig loses the game of chicken, hoping that he can get the blight to cease before he has to think about getting out of Sora's proximity. Instead, he hears Sora call a name. A fleeting moment goes by as he pokes through Riku's mind -- what name does Sora call for him...

And he confirms his suspicion just as Sora's call activates, the flash of white bright enough in the waning afternoon light to both startle Schuldig and be something Sora might see.]

Wait, he can't--

[That wasn't supposed to be possible! From what he knew, anyway. He was starting to realize shinki-god bonds were more volatile than he'd been planning. No wonder nora were considered unreliable at best and deceitful two-faced players at worst.

Now he was completely weaponless and blighted to boot.]

[To his credit, Riku didn't know that one god could 'steal' back a shinki. And he doesn't usually resist the transformation into his vessel form, so he's momentarily baffled at the familiar white light and sudden spacial relocation as well as shape change.]

Sora?! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to--

[He stops himself abruptly, looking around to see where Loki's located. It's nearby, he could still locate Sora from where he was. But the problem now is that he doesn't know if the stealing works both ways and weather Loki plans on trying it after seeing that it works the one way.]

Sorry.

[It's Sora's experience with sharing shinki with Roxas that he knows this is possible. There'd been a time when Sora and Roxas continually swapped Axel's keyblade forms between the two of them to take down a Neoclassical Drake. When done right it can be incredibly useful. In that case, useful for two keybladers with duel wield experience.

Or just a way to retrieve a stolen shinki.

The familiar cards materialize in Sora's palm and he clutches them. Hearing Riku Replica's voice echo in his head sends both a sense of relief and confusion over him.]

What's going on? Who had you?

[He looks up, trying to find the culprit. But the he doubles back at what Riku Replica actually said once it settles in his mind.

sorry, I didn't mean to--

Didn't mean to what? Why is he saying sorry so much? ... Did... Was this intentional? Riku Replica wanted to be stolen? ... Wanted to be with a different god?

The sting hurts deep in his heart. He's confused.]

Tell me what happened...

[Schuldig's big plan at this point is to keep moving around while Sora's still distracted. He doesn't want to leave, not yet, not without doing everything he can to get that shinki back. Problem is that they're still connected, him and Riku. So while Schuldig doesn't have a problem putting a bullet between the kid's eyes, that would likely set the shinki off in a way that he couldn't possibly recover from. And he can't control an ayakashi. So it's not even Plan B at this point, it's Plan EFG for Everything Fucking Goes.

Okay, first thing's first, he tries to control Sora. All he wants is to pin the kid-god to that spot. His powers aren't stopping Riku from talking, so maybe he can stop Sora from taking the shinki back. So his powers chiefly go to that effort, making it so that Sora can't move.

The rest of his power goes to speaking to Riku.]

'Go on and tell him. Tell him how you offered yourself to me. He's already guessing.'

[Then he holds out his hand.]

'So why bother? I won't make you fight him, just come with me and we'll leave. Don't listen to him anymore. Come back! Buki!

[Now to see if Riku would actually take it. Best case scenario, a fleeting moment of guilt is all he needs to get the gun back and then he can teleport them both down to the Near Shore to get away from the other God for awhile.]

Loki. Listen, I had a plan and it's a wreck right now. Sorry for for the blight.

[Can Schuldig hear him? Probably. Hopefully not while he's talking, which slightly overlaps Riku trying to talk to Sora, so Riku isn't sure if Sora said more and he missed it or what.]

'Like he won't go after you if I go with you.'

[But if he does stick to his word and doesn't shoot Sora, then Riku will just explain to him fully later. He resists the call for about half a minute, then gives in, leaving Sora's hand and resuming his gun form in Schuldig's.]

[Sora feels his body freeze again and he can't make his limbs move. Panic bubbles in his lungs as he looks down at the cards in his hands. The thing is, he has Riku Replica's cards right now so he can hear everything Riku Replica is saying.

The facts falling into place has Sora's heart burning with hurt and betrayal. Riku Replica went with Loki? Loki of all gods, the one that threatened Sora and strangled him.

And he can't even move to express himself beyond the tears starting to fall. Then the cards are gone.

Why would Riku want to go with him? Did Sora do something wrong? Does he not trust Sora? Why can't he get closer to Riku? Sora has so many questions and feelings of inadequacy and insecurity start looming. If... If Riku wants to be with Loki, he should be allowed to go, right? Sora would no longer have a shinki. He would have no one to help him. And that would be that.]

...Give him back.

[Sora's tears get stronger as he voice cracks. Riku is supposed to be his friend and his first shinki and his exemplar. Why... Why...]

Give him back!!

[In desperation Sora somehow manages to summon his keyblade. In a flash he tries Limit Form... and everything goes black.

Suddenly a voiceless feral creature is in Loki's face. Because he can teleport too. A clawed hand swipes at him.]

[Well shit.

Schuldig ducks down and over and claw ends up going through his jacket to his shoulder. Better than his face, but he's still not pleased about it.]

'PLAN?'

[He's at least got from Riku now that whatever he'd been expecting, this wasn't it, but now Schuldig's unable to perform any telepathy on the young man because he's so focused on dodging this ... thing that Baldr became.]

Some fucking god of light you turned out to be, huh--!!

[But his snippy comments are cut off as he continues trying to alternate between actual teleporting and then just dodging. Baldr didn't go ayakashi - that doesn't happen to Gods, he was certain - but the net effect is the same, he's coming to realize. That's why there's so much strain on Schuldig's face. The dodges aren't actually working. Right now his reflexes are just lucky - minus the first swipe - and he's struggling. Why?

He reaches out to Sora's mind and finds a void. That's why he can't dodge - there's no preplanning involved. It's his worst nightmare. He's fighting Farfarello, that's what he's doing, goddamn.

Schuldig's still clinging to Riku's vessel form with a tight grip, until he thinks to shove him in a vest pocket. One less thing to hang onto.]

BUKI, TELL ME HOW TO STOP HIM FIRST!

[He doesn't want to release Riku - and be unable to hear him - until he's got this maniac out of his face, bare minimum. He doesn't really want to release Riku at all, just 'give him back' as a nora, but he's very much considering his options carefully. Still, surely a vessel would know how their god fights.]

[Closed] You can't raise hell with a saint

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I thought I sent this like, 9 hours ago

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