thenearshore | if i would lose you now

Entry tags:

if i would lose you now

WHO; Arikado + Yurick
WHAT; Discussion of a missing Shinki - and the duties one owes and is owed.
WHERE; Xargi's caverns
WHEN; Slightly backdated to May 10
WARNINGS; Will be added as needed.

The pup was still being taken care of.

It was hard not to notice, of course; he'd noticed a lot of things since the sudden banishment of the aching pain that he'd started to become so accustomed to. Never complaining, never bringing it up, despite growing concern and gaining knowledge - this was the Blight that had been mentioned, and it would need to be confronted, sooner or later. For both their sakes.

And then it was gone.

And Kuroko with it.

Arikado hadn't known what to think of it. On some level, it was a relief, and yet - it raised so many questions. Was this a matter of his failure? Kuroko's? That infernal bureaucracy they'd, he'd found himself in, or something else?

He didn't know. But Yurick was still minding Satan, because someone clearly was. Arikado hadn't quite found the thought to bring the creature back to the near shore as he'd told himself he would, and was, for the moment, kneeling down next to it with a somber air as it quietly whined up at him, as if asking if he'd any clue to where its own master had gone.

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Of course Yurick was still caring for the puppy. The shinki liked animals, and besides it was the last thing left of Kuroko here, a lingering remnant of their brief friendship.

The young man came into the cavern with a bowl of water for the dog, nearly fumbling it when he saw Arikado staring down at Satan. For a moment, he considered quietly slipping from the room before the god noticed him. Memories of his talk with Sora drifted to the forefront of his thoughts, rooting him in place.

Now or never, he supposed.

"Arikado-sama... might I have a word, if you don't mind?"

Satan, upon seeing someone they were far more used to taking care of them, quickly squirmed away and all but bounded towards Yurick with a wagging tail. Arikado watched it go, then began to stand-

-then paused, arching his brow. Hm.

"...very well," he allowed, straightening up and looking towards the Shinki. "What is it?"

Well, that doesn't sound dismissive, even if it's not exactly welcoming either. Yurick scoops up the puppy, clutching him to his chest and nervously scratching the back of the animal's neck to reassure himself. It helps a little when Satan licks his chin a few times.

"I-- it's about us... the way you... um...."

Yurick's gaze slides away from Alucard, guilty. And there's the sting, slight but definitely just the same as it was with Kuroko.

Arikado's used enough to the pain that he doesn't even flinch, the only tell a brief crease in his brow. Yurick, too? He's tried to hard to keep them out of battle except when absolutely necessary, but there's still a threat that he can't avoid, it seems.

His jaw tightens.

"Speak."

Is that a trace of impatience?

Yurick goes instantly tense, his throat working as he struggles between obedience and Sora's words. Shinki are friends and helpers to their gods, not slaves, he reminds himself. How can he work with Arikado with such tension between them?

He speaks softly, the slightest sting of guilt pricking at Arikado again, but lessened this time. "Don't do that... please."

Arikado's always known he has a degree of intimidation about him. He's cultivated it, on some level, but this...this actually has him let out a soft sigh, closing his eyes for a long moment before opening them again.

"Speak your mind," he says, trying to soften his tone. Will that work? "I am not trying to do anything but listen to what you have to say."

"I understand, Arikado-sama, but...."

As if sensing his anxiety, Satan whimpers and licks Yurick's face again. The shinki cuddles the dog, drawing some measure of comfort from the loving little furball, before setting him down. He needs to do this on his own, without the dog, without Kuroko, without Sora. This is between him and Arikado now.

"We're supposed to be more than just partners. We should be... friends." He believes what Sora told him, he has to. Eternity in tense silence is as unbearable as returning to nothingness. "Friends aren't distant like we are. Whatever made you feel like this is none of my business, I'm not asking you to tell me something so personal. But... but please stop treating me like a burden!"

There's a huge sting from that, a swelling of guilt stronger than any Arikado has felt from Yurick before. Guilt, for asking to be treated as a human being and not something barely tolerated....

Friends.

Arikado does not have friends. Allies, perhaps, and on some level he understands the shinki are such, but at the same time- the twinge reminds him of Kuroko, quiet and innocent, grimly going forth with the few horrors Arikado welded him against and yet-

A fist tightens. He forces it to release.

"What made you think I thought you were a burden?"

It's a simple question, honest in its puzzlement.

"You barely speak to me." Another tiny sting, then again with every sentence spoken. Yurick tells himself he shouldn't be saying these things, but Sora insisted that he had to, both for his sake and Arikado's. "You haven't brought me into combat. You haven't even called me by my shinki name. I have no idea what I become in your hands."

He ignores Satan pawing gently at his leg, the puppy worried for his new master. The shinki turns his head, hating that a second chance at some sort of life involves hurting his master's feelings.

"I know I'm not physically strong, but I have my own magic. I know I can be a help to you. Still, if you want a more powerful shinki... I... I'm sure the Heavens could find a... a replacement...." His voice cracks slightly and he hates it. It makes him sound so young, so weak.

"This isn't about you not being strong. I don't want - I did not want either of you to get hurt," he corrects himself, grimacing as he reaches up to the back of his neck. "I have decades of experience fighting dark creatures, and you, who can remember nothing-"

There was no derision in his voice. No condemnation. Still, he was tense, uncomfortable with having to explain himself. To whom did he answer before?...just about nobody. His superiors left him alone, because he had earned that position, that trust.

Now, it seemed, he had nothing, too.

Now Yurick's entire body is a solid line of tightly wound frustration, but at least that frustration is spurring him to stop feeling guilty. Is that Arikado's reason for keeping him out of battle? He knows now what he has to do to prove himself, but first he has to make sure Satan is out of the way. The dog will surely panic with what Yurick is about to do. So he bends down, scoops Satan up again, and carries him to another chamber. After making certain the puppy is secure, he returns to Arikado with frosty steel glinting in his eye.

"I may not have my memories, but I know what my capabilities are. I know what powers I brought with me past the threshold of death."

And he begins to float.

Delicate swirls of power gather about him, pale warm streaks of light that gather into his hands. As the mass of magic grows, he raises both hands over his head and flings them down at the ground between their feet. Flames explode upward, bringing a rush of heat as a circle of fire forms around them. But Yurick's control is so perfect, the cave and its contents, plus the two men standing in the fire, are utterly unharmed. The magic is tamed at the shinki's will.

"If you were my enemy, that would've hurt you badly at the very least. I'm not helpless, Arikado-sama. I don't remember, but I wouldn't have these powers unless I'd needed them in life. Doesn't that prove I know how to fight, too?"

Well then.

Arikado's brow arches, the only outright sign of surprise. And initially, that's it. There's no response from him as he takes it all in, his eyes the only thing telling, and they tell...

Well, it's hard to tell. There is an emotion there, proof that he isn't as stoic as he seems. Despite the melting ice all around them, he remains still, even if his eyes seem...perhaps not regretful. Perhaps not awed, either. But surely the fact that there is something there says something, and that he is actually having to try and hide it? To swallow it down before he makes a decision, and speaks?

"No," he says simply, before tilting his head. This is a fool's game, he tells himself, and yet he continues; "Action proves. Show me, Yurick."

There is a steel in his voice. The harshness of what, quite bluntly, is an order. If to not come at him, then- perhaps to do something about the fireball he's summoned in his own hand, and is throwing at his Shinki.

(And yet, that is telling, too. It isn't aimed to be a direct hit, easy to dodge if the young man desires. This is a test, but it is not one with a punishment for failure.)

Maybe it's because he half expected Arikado to test him, or maybe it's something his mind forgot but his body remembers. But there's no flinch of surprise, nothing but a smooth dodge. Drawing mana and casting a quick one-off fireball back at his god feels unfamiliar, as if he's not used to having to do spellwork with such speed, but the shot is true and the spell solid.

It's frustrating to be doubted, but how can he blame Arikado when they barely know each other? Just looking at Yurick shows how small and slight he is, and though he's toned he's hardly what anyone would call strong. He's fast when he needs to be, though, and that speed is what he uses to lunge at Arikado on the tail of his fireball, trying to get in close. If only he had a weapon....

Flames flicker along his right hand, stretching out into a wavy blade-like shape. He's not even consciously aware of it, reaching for his god as if to grab his jacket, but that fire-blade just might cut and burn if it makes contact.

Not so easy.

Arikado slides back out of reach of the sword, clearly familiar with this song and dance. Especially one he himself started, but then, he doesn't necessarily have to give it his all, does he? Just keep the pace, so to speak, as he tests his shinki's full capabilities.

Kuroko showed no sign of them. Was he lesser for it? No- simply human. Then what is Yurick? Human as well, and yet-

This time, a pair of white whisps manifest from his hands, moving towards either side of Yurick to attack from two directions at once. They're no more than the stinging sort, more of a distraction than anything else.

Yurick sees the one coming from his left, but being blind on his right side he misses that wisp. He dodges the one but the wisp on his blind side slams into him with an electric sort of jolt, making him yelp and lose focus on his fire-blade. Still, he doesn't falter for more than a second, flinging another small one-off fireball at Arikado.

As the shinki fights, Arikado might feel another odd energy growing within Yurick. It's centered on his right eye, under the patch, and though it carries the same fiery mana used by Yurick, it's also far more ancient and primal.

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if i would lose you now

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