{{Character Infobox
|firstname=Shiki
|lastname=Misaki
|age=15
|image=Shiki's_Bottom-screen_portrait.PNG
|species=Human
|sex=Female
|height=5'2"
|series=The World Ends With You
|styles=Adventurer
|hometown=Shibuya
|alignment=Wandering Force
|group=Players, Shard Seekers
|occupation=Player
|quote="Once you see the real me, will we still be friends?"
|footer=I'm what?!
}}
==Background==

[[File:Ewffr.png|left]]

Shiki is one of the Players in the Reaper's Game, and the original partner of Neku Sakuraba. Previously just a normal girl living in Shibuya with a best friend named Eri, upon her death she ended up in the Underground, Shibuya's underworld, and made a contestant in the Reaper's Game- a contest not just to win another chance to live, but to protect Shibuya and enrich the lives of its people by dealing with the supernatural beings called Noise.

Although Neku's amnesia and antisocial tendencies meant that their partnership begun on a rocky note, with some dangerous incidents, Shiki's attitude helped them to quickly bond and become fast friends. They ended up reaching the critical final day of the Game and taking on its Game Master, Yodai Higashizawa, whose defeat would allow them to both come back to life.

However, before this could happen, Neku was thrust straight into a second week of the Game, all part of a far greater scheme which nobody had yet realised... a scheme which could not find fulfilment as the Heartless cracked their way into Shibuya. Shiki, who had been removed entirely from reality- being as she was Neku's most precious thing and his 'entry fee'- was thrust back into the world just in time to see it collapse.

Tumbling through the darkness, her memories a little muddled, Shiki awoke in Traverse Town. Now operating out of [[WildKat Cafe]]- the only slim World Shard of Shibuya thus far to survive- she searches for the other Players and tries to understand what's happened to everything.

==Abilities==

Shiki is a Player, but she's a person first, and she has a professional hobby. She's an expert seamstress and is very good at making clothing from scratch, of any kind and fashion. Being a child of Shibuya, one of the crucibles of fashion and style, she has an excellently keen understanding of how this kind of thing works, which is just as well, because in the streets of Shibuya, style is survival.

She also has a slew of psychokinetic abilities, which allow her to animate and control objects. Some of these are granted to her by the various Pins used to compete in the Reaper's Game- small metal badges which grant access to abilities called Psychs. By expressing the user's imagination and creativity, thoughts can be changed into power to give a variety of offensive effects.

Shiki also has a stuffed animal she made herself named Mr. Mew. This simple-seeming black cat toy can be animated by her psychokinesis and has a semi-independant existence, animated by aspects of Shiki's subconcious. It serves as a valuable offensive tool for Shiki, and a cornerstone of her fighting style. She is capable of using him in Fusion attacks, which are special combo attacks that grow stronger depending on her bond with another.

By using her Player Pin, Shiki can also form temporary Pacts with other people. This allows people to adjust their Vibe, the frequency with which they resonate with the rest of reality. This is essential to fighting the Noise, which exist on multiple levels of reality at once.

==Powers and Equipment==

[[File:Shiki-FK-Profile.gif]]

[[Shiki's Pins]]

[[File:134986911912421.png|left]] A bracelet Shiki and Reize found in the Mythril Mines. As the first treasure Shiki acquired as an adventurer, she's very attached to it. It provides a negligible boost to agility and magic defence, especially if she catches a spell right on the bracelet. It can also be used to learn the Bug Killer ability, granting increased attack power against insect monsters, although she doesn't yet know this.

[[File:Mythrilrod.png]]

A weapon forged for Shiki by the Legendary Smith after weeks of training in the Hermit's Library, Daguerreo.

==Relationships==

===Allies===
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
|-
! scope="col" width="100" | Name
! scope="col" width="100" | Status
! scope="col" width="500" | Thoughts
|-
|[[Reize Seatlan]]||<3||"I like you, Reize!"
|-
|[[Lily]]||Hblubguhh||"You almost died..."
|-
|[[Leida]]||Blah blah||"You've gotta learn to get used to stuff outside of your comfort zone, girl!"
|-
|[[Ivo Galvan]]||*gulp*||"Oh, you're not gonna be happy, are you."
|-
||[[Faruja Senra]]||Someone to look up to||"Thank you for protecting me from Priel."
|-
|[[Tifa Lockhart]]||SOLIDARITY||"Adventure buddies!"
|-
|[[Riku]]||:O||"No way! No ''way''!"
|-
|[[Lenn]]||Yossha! Quest!||"Helping one another to be strong!"
|-
|[[Skoll Ulfang]]||Um.||"I don't really know him that much."
|-
||[[Neku Sakuraba]]||sasjadhs||"Neku! omg omg omg"
|-
||[[Rhyme]]||Hooray!||"Rhyme's alive!"
|-
||[[Beat]]||Good for you||"Nice to know you're making your own way in the world."
|}

===Acquaintances===
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
|-
! scope="col" width="100" | Name
! scope="col" width="100" | Status
! scope="col" width="500" | Thoughts
|-
||[[Nagetta]]||Good to see you!||"Thanks for helping us again!"
|-
||[[Luso Clemens]]||Reize 2?!||"He totally is! He's like Reize #2!"
|-
|[[Evja]]||wh||"I, you, what, what."
|-
||[[Sora]]||Woaaaah.||"Thank you for helping me unlock a world shard!"
|-
|[[Deidra]]||Woah, are those real?||"Wow! I've never seen anything like you! Can you show me around?"
|-
|[[Katnya]]||uh, hi?!||"She came out of nowhere to help us. Wonder who she is?"
|-
|[[Avira]]||Tougher cookie!||"Your sword is ''scary''!"
|-
||Crab||How strange||"We helped it and it calmed down. Wonder if we'll see it again some day?"
|-
|[[Mercade Alexander]]||Hey, thanks.||"I'll call you or beep you if I wanna reach you?"
|-
|[[Sammy Colt]]||Weirdo||"You're odd. Don't cause trouble..."
|-
|[[Ramza Beoulve]]||Noble guy||"And his chocobo helped me when I was down."
|-
|[[Zia]]||Hope you're OK||"Be safe, ok? Watch out for Heartless!"
|-
|[[Pixi]]||So acrobatic!||"I wonder what was with that sword...?"
|-
|[[Gilgamesh]]||Ha ha, aww||"What a weird guy. I feel sorry for him for some reason."
|-
|[[Ping]]||Tin Pin Slammer?!||"I, uh, didn't know it had fans!"
|-
||[[Deelel]]||Beep boop!||"Here by our side."
|-
|[[Relm Arrowny]]||Hmm?||"Mr Mew seems to like you!"
|-
|}

===Adversaries===
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
|-
! scope="col" width="100" | Name
! scope="col" width="100" | Status
! scope="col" width="500" | Thoughts
|-
|-
||Uh-Oa||A goddess!||"It was scary, but we turned her around."
|-
||Wild Saurian||Nasty guy||"He's a force of nature."
|-
|[[Sho Minamimoto]]||WHAT||"WHAT"
|-
|[[Scarmiglione]]||gross gross gross||"I hope I never see him again."
|-
|[[Hades]]||?!||"What? His power...!"
|-
|[[Scar]]||WTF||"There's something that puts me on edge about this guy."
|-
|[[Priel Aylin]]||Yeah.||"Yeah."
|-
||The Midgar Zolom||NOT FOR EATING||"You're not gonna get me! I'm not snake food!"
|-
||[[Shinra]]||How disgusting...||"They treat people really badly... but how can we stop it?"
|}

==Cutscenes==
{{Character Logs|Cutscenes}}

==Logs==
{{Character Logs}}

==Trivia==

'''THE LIST''' of things that have tried to eat Shiki

* [[Yodai Higashizawa]] (she thinks)
* [[Priel Aylin]]
* The Heartless (implicitly)
* Midgar Zolom (quite definitely)
* Zuu
* Wild Saurian (maybe?)
* Sand Worm (actually succeeded... temporarily)

MORE TO COME SOON...?
WE HOPE NOT...

2013-05-07T11:17:48Z

Shrimptoast:

{{Cutscene Header
|Date of Scene=2013/04/29
|Location=Forgotten Island - Daguerreo
|Synopsis=The aftermath of Neku's meeting and Priel's departure.
|Cast of Characters=Shiki Misaki, others
}}
Shiki Misaki's eyes snapped open.

She awoke in one of the many inn rooms in Daguerreo, replete with its own running water feature, a bed, cabinet, door, and not much else. Immediately, she forewent the comfort of thinking what had happened last in her memory was a dream.

It came back to her in a rush, followed by everything else- Priel accepting Hades' contract, Neku dragging himself away from her- and then everything else besides, including his cold dismissal of her, Sho and everything he said, and more.

She pulled herself out of bed and staggered over to the water feature. It was a basin which remained mostly full, water flowing out of it more slowly than it flowed in through an opening in the wall. The reflection in it was wobbly and indistinct, but she knew one thing for sure-

It wasn't hers.

She stood there, leaning against the wall with one arm, for a few minutes. As she did, she became intimately aware with the sound of her breathing, the pounding in her head, the gurgling in her stomach and the feel of the stone wall against her hand. She stepped away and ran one fingernail against one another- touched her face, and her hair.

She was alive. And yet, she was Eri.

This was, she realized, something she hadn't done for days. Even though there was water everywhere on the forgotten island, she had never looked at herself in a pool ever since Sho broke the news to her. Something had been holding her back, something she didn't want to put a name to. But things had gotten about as bad for her as they could possibly get, so she obviously wasn't filtering things through properly.

It was something she had never expected to happen. She always had Eri's appearance, yes, but this- to be alive, and yet to still look like her- began to fill her with a crawling unpleasantness. Eri was gone, lost to the darkness: and now here she was, a bodysnatcher, alive and well and bound in her lost friend's bones.

A creaking of the door interrupted her from her thoughts. She turned around to see that woman that had accompanied them- the white-haired woman with one eye obscured.

"Oh, good, you are still awake. I heard you moving around and then you didn't make a lot of noise, so I wondered what had happened."

"How long was I asleep?" Shiki asked, throat dry and morning voice in full effect.

"About ten hours, maybe eleven? Yeah, eleven hours. You want breakfast? Brunchfast?"

Shiki mentally darted back to Neku's counter. She deducted the amount of time he showed her less the amount of time she'd been asleep, and came up with negative numbers. A high of fear immediately electrified her entire body, and she moved out of the room.

"No," she said, already walking down the corridor. "No, sorry. I have to find Neku."

------

Shiki didn't find Neku.

She immediately left Daguerreo and went out on her own, which was a stupid thing to do. She searched the area for a mile around the library's cave-like entrance, evading adamantoises as she went, skipping past the odd worm hydra, looking for signs of a conflict. Lily had left the area around scorched when they fought Sho, right?

But she didn't find anything. Or at least, anything much. There were small scabs of conflict here and there, but nothing lasting. No clear indication of a winner or loser, and more importantly, no clear indication of where Neku had gone. She doubled back and searched in Daguerreo, but nobody mentioned noticing the unusual spiky-hair's return.

---

And so Shiki sat down again in front of the dragon god's shrine, exhausted, hungry and sore-legged. She covered her face with her hat and closed out the world, just as Neku tended to do.

Unfortunately, the world came to her much more quickly. Kumoto's apprentice walked up a few minutes later, asking after her. By this time, even lunch had passed.

"You manage to find him?" "No." "I'm sorry to hear it. I understand he wanted to find a rival of his or something?"
"More than that. He was after the Game Master. That guy... holds Neku's life in his hands. If he found him, then he either fulfilled whatever task he was given or got in a fight... maybe he got in a fight with him anyway. Without a partner... without anyone else there, I don't know how he could have fought him. We took him on as a group before and you saw how much it took just to drive him off." "So maybe he didn't find him. Maybe he just got fed up and left the island." "No, that's worse. If Neku didn't find him, then his counter would have run out. And then he'd just... go up in a puff of white noise... I guess. That's what happens when you don't finish whatever task a reaper gives you before your counter runs out." "...I'm sorry. I didn't know. If I did then I would have gone with him myself." "...it's my fault. I should have gone..." "He rejected you. He didn't want to have anything to do with you, from what I overheard. He probably wouldn't have gotten on any better... maybe worse. Who can say?"

There was silence for a few moments, only backgrounded by the sound of the running water. By this point, more familiar faces had begun to make their way over. Shiki sighed.

"The last time I saw him... we were friends. Good friends. I even liked him a... a lot. We'd only known one another for a week, but I got him to open up to me for the first time... maybe the first friend he had. He changed from... I managed to turn him around, you know?"

She sighs.

"But now I met him again in these worlds and everything got reset to factory settings. He's as cold and impenetrable as he was the day I met him... maybe even more so. I couldn't get through to him... he didn't even want to know. He just rubbed up the wrong way against everyone, and I don't know what happened to him... he wouldn't let me in and tell me what he was thinking."

"And now he might be gone." "And now he might be gone."

Again, silence. Shiki spent a minute looking around the area they were in, the voluminous central area of the hermit's library which branched out into many other directions.

"Why did you and your friends come here?" the woman asked, her question genuine and free of accusation.

"We wanted to become..." Shiki says. She stops to think. "I don't know what the word is. Self sufficient? Better? ....Strong?"

She continues. "We only had our magic and our more skilled friends to protect us, and sometimes not even that. None of us could use a weapon or defend ourselves with our own two hands. And I-- not just for my sake, but for theirs... I mean, you saw us fighting Sho. We torched half the landscape just swinging around, big kabooms and icicles that never even hit sometimes... no control at all. We only got out of it by hitting him with all the overkill we had. That's not... that's not going to work forever, especially..."

She thought of Priel. Priel, who had lived under the same roof as them for months. Priel, who had once chased her across the Fluorgian desert with her talons and fangs out, insisting she was going to eat her (how would that have worked if she wasn't technically alive then? Heck, what distinction really was there between the Shiki she was then and the Shiki she is now?). Priel, who had now disappeared with Hades and become a Harrier Reaper- and wouldn't, would still be somewhere in Fluorgis doing whatever stupid dumb stupid stuff she did if Shiki didn't insist on her coming along to 'keep an eye on her'.

"Especially since I have an enemy now that knows all about me. I gotta change."

Shiki stands up and walks over to a shelf of books. They're the ones Lily looked at on transmogrification.

"Not like this, of course, but still. Heeh... as it is, I'm still way too weak."

"But your heart is strong," the woman said. Shiki looked back. "All of you have strong hearts, in fact. If you didn't, you wouldn't have come here. You wouldn't have paid any attention to me when I was strung up on that tree. You wouldn't have fought your best to protect me, a person you never met before. You wouldn't have stuck your hand out to that boy even though he was cold and cruel to you."

"I still fainted," Shiki replied miserably. "If I hadn't, then maybe I could have gone-"

"Don't think about maybes," she fired back. "Even as you were, it's not impossible to think it could have happened. That man with the burning hair had all the presence and power of the dragon god. Plus you were exhausted, emotionally worn out, and worse- that person betrayed you for her own devices. She never lifted a finger to help when you fought the black monsters, either- her heart is just like so many others who came to Daguerreo and were turned away." "By Kumoto?" "-yes, by Kumoto. If you came here to train with him, and you were accepted, then all you can do from now on is steel yourself. You won't be changed around in a day, or even a week, but this will help you. All of you," she says, looking around for a moment. "Your hearts have the potential to withstand what training will do to you, and your bodies, your minds, your reflexes- all of those have to improve. You might not be able to withstand fainting after four days of trekking, but it'll be a start."

Shiki looks around, as well. She looks at her new friend, at the people around her, and nods.

"I swear," she says. "For the sake of the people who will allow themselves the chance to be friends with me, I'll be strong. I'll become a better person than I was before today. I'll do my best to not let things like this happen again. I'll overcome the darkness and find answers, and I'll do it together with my friends."

2013-05-06T22:27:12Z

Shrimptoast: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2013/05/28 |Location=Forgotten Island - Daguerreo |Synopsis=After meeting with Kumoto, everyone is taking a rest when Neku stumbles in. Subsequentl..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2013/05/28
|Location=Forgotten Island - Daguerreo
|Synopsis=After meeting with Kumoto, everyone is taking a rest when Neku stumbles in. Subsequently things go insane in awful, complicated ways and nothing will ever be the same again.
|Cast of Characters=lenn, lily, shiki misaki, neku sakuraba, hades, priel aylin
|pretty=yes
}}
:'''[[Shiki Misaki]] has posed:''' It's a little while after meeting Kumoto. The group, having recently arrived in Daguerreo, is making preparations to set up and find places to bunk for a few days, as well as enjoying the local flavour. Everyone is free to explore, rest or eat. Shiki has some time to herself, and is using it to consider what Sho said to her... and to Priel, as well.

:'''[[Shiki Misaki]] has posed:''' It's a little while after meeting Kumoto. The group, having recently arrived in Daguerreo, is making preparations to set up and find places to bunk for a few days, as well as enjoying the local flavour. Everyone is free to explore, rest or eat. Shiki has some time to herself, and is using it to consider what Sho said to her... and to Priel, as well. Currently she's in a quiet corridoor near to one of the synthesis stores, watching a waterfall.

:'''[[Lenn]] has posed:''' There's a shuffling, and a tall stack of books with legs starts down the hall... pointed ears sticking out from either side might betray who this is... but they're on a collision course with Shiki...

:'''[[Priel Aylin]] has posed:''' Priel meanwhile could be seen ambling along after Lenn. And of course, she offered no help for the stack of books the elf was carrying. It seemed like her thoughts were elsewhere... Where? Well, considering what Sho had said previously, perhaps it was not so hard to figure out what she was thinking about now...

:'''[[Shiki Misaki]] has posed:''' "My goodness, there's so many books around here they go walking around by themselves," Shiki says. She leans backwards, using her hands to support herself. "Collecting a bunch of stuff to chew through, Lenn? Uh, make sure nobody trips you." Naming no names.

:'''[[Priel Aylin]] has posed:''' Shiki's voice brings Priel back to reality and immediately, she eyes her, slinking over to the other girl from behind and playfully headlocking her. "Oh really? Maybe someone should worry more about not getting themselves set on fire. Hm~?"

:'''[[Lenn]] has posed:''' Lenn stops in her tracks, and peers around the books, at Shiki. "These all have a bunch of cuts, and knotwork. I don't know if there's anything NEW for me, but I should try and see, yeah?" She smiles. "I think there was some with stitching patterns in there, too.

:'''[[Lily]] has posed:''' Lily's been running all over town, but without a lot of Munny on hand there's been little to do exactly. So eventually she comes back to Shiki, after hunting around Town nd finally coming across her. "Ah... Shiki?" Lily charges forwar, beaming cheerfully at her. "Why are you just standing here...? There's fun things in town!"

:'''[[Shiki Misaki]] has posed:''' "Did I say 'oh no Priel's gonna trip you up, Lenn!'?" Shiki replies smarmily. "No. It was /general/ warning. She can't see where she's going! It's legitimate advice." She plucks a book from the top of Lenn's pile. "Skim-read 'em?" She leafs through it herself. "I wonder if you can borrow books out." Then she almost drops it in surprise as Lily CHARGES. DON'T DROP IT IN THE WATER. "Aaaah... I'm... I was just catching some me time," Shiki explains. "Free time is me time, y'know? Was thinking."

:'''[[Priel Aylin]] has posed:''' "Please, we all know what you were talking about!" Pause. "...But then, it would be pretty entertaining to see Lenn go tumbling to the ground in an avalanche of books~" Not that there were enough books for an avalanche, but the mental image was sufficient enough to cause Priel to giggle to herself. Seeing Lily charging, Priel casually disengaged from Shiki and backed off a tad, crossing her arms and looking rather bored. "Thinking, huh...?" She muttered to herself, looking off at the waterfall after.

:'''[[Lenn]] has posed:''' Lenn looks to Priel. "Then you missed me trying to get one off the top shelf." She smiles, wryly. "And I do plan on skipping sections I DO know, after all. So I'll probably only read about a third of this at best.

:'''[[Lily]] has posed:''' "O-Oh..." LIly does NOT trip this time, but it's only after she gets close that she relaly blinks and starts looking about at the others, as if she missed them earlier. Knowing this girl, that might be the case. When she focuses, she focuses! "... Priiiiiiel." As usual, she's none too happy to see her, but leaves it at that. Instead, she seats herself on the nearest seat-worthy thing and starts kicking her legs. "... thinking's hard. Really important though. Did you get buried, Lenn?"

:'''[[Shiki Misaki]] has posed:''' "You asked any of the guys who... uh... live here? Work here for help? I don't know if they live here or work here... I mean either way they'll probably know where the good stuff is," Shiki assures Lenn. She puts out a hand just in case we need to stop Lily from tripping over her own feet, and is eager to hear more about this supposed buried-in-books incident. We're not even here a day and we're already screwing everything up for everyone! "You should find a nice book to read too, Priel. It'll give you something to do."

:'''[[Lenn]] has posed:''' Lenn nods, "Yup. Fell from the shelf, and then the books all came down on top of me. Nice big pile." She laughs. "Took a while..."

:'''[[Priel Aylin]] has posed:''' "Liiiiiiiiiiy~" Priel greeted back, grinning mischievously at the other in response. Her attention turned away after that. "...Pffff! Ahahahahahaha!" Hearing Lenn's story, Priel just burst out laughing, holding her stomach as she did so. Eventually she just stumbled back and had to sit down, lest she trip. "You..what...I...Ahahahahaha!" Well, at least now she was having fun. For a moment anyway. After a couple more moments of laughing, she managed to calm down, wiping tears away from her eyes. "Phew! ...I wish I was there now...oh well!" Once she calmed down enough, Priel glanced at Shiki and shrugged. "A nice book? ...Yeah right! Like I came here for that."

:'''[[Shiki Misaki]] has posed:''' "Yeah, yeah, you just came here to heckle us, we know," Shiki says. "Long as that's all you came here to do."

:'''[[Priel Aylin]] has posed:''' "Hmn...." Priel hummed, tapping her cheek lightly in thought. "Who knows? There could be much more.../worthwhile/ things to do..." she then said rather cryptically, smirking at Shiki after.

:'''[[Lily]] has posed:''' "Please stop being weird." LIly groans at Priel, but otherwise she seems to be keeping quiet and thinking heavily on things herself. "... I didn't know Moogles could be so skilled at things when they're so tiny."

:'''[[Shiki Misaki]] has posed:''' "No, really, I can think of a great book you could read, it's called 'How to Make Friends and Influence People'." Shiki says this with complete sincerity, as usual. Wait, no, no she doesn't. Pause. "Your reply will be, 'no, a cookbook.' See? So predictable."

:'''[[Priel Aylin]] has posed:''' Priel just brought a hand to her mouth and yawned. At this point, she wasn't even entertaining Shiki's jabbing. "And yet, I knew you'd say that too. So boring." There must have been some point where it had stopped being funny and crossed over into the point where she simply did not care anymore. She shrugged then and rolled her eyes. Sho was right. She didn't need these people. Nor did she need to pretend to tolerate them. Why was she trying anyhow? ...Oh right, Ivo put in a good word for her to be standing here. And also their HQ was convenient. Convenient enough to deal with it anyway.

:'''[[Lenn]] has posed:''' Lenn sighs. So much hostility, here. She looks between Shiki and Priel, wondering if there's something she can do...

:'''[[That Jerk Neku]] has posed:''' Speaking of hostilty! Neku Sakuraba hasn't had the really fun, whimsical time that everybody else in the worlds seems to have been having. Amnesiac, alone, and hounded by Reaper and Noise and Heartless alike, one could say that Sakuraba's time has been less than /pleasant/...but at the same time, it's exactly what Neku always wanted, right? To be alone. To shut out the whole universe with his headphones. To live defining where his world ends - with him. But he's not *happy*. He's not *satisfied*. He's not...okay. Something is missing from his perfect little world...and it's peace and quiet. The Reapers and the Heartless and the Noise are distractions, problems, things that keep intruding on his little bubble of reality and telling him that, No, You Can't Just Listen To Music Forever, You Have To Go Out And Fight. Thankfully, most of the things that have been sent at him have been.../weak/, at best. They've been shallow creatures unable to really get to him or harm him - Neku's skill with his Psychs was improving every day, as he racked up experience like it was going out of style in Shibuya. But then there was Sho Minamimoto. Sho was a thorn in his side from the day they met. Sho has continued to be a thorn in his side - powerful enough to put Neku on his toes, cunning enough to keep Neku second-guessing him, and skilled enough to keep hunting Neku down wherever he was. This time, however, Neku had turned the tables on Sho; this time, Neku came to /him/. Or...well, so Neku'd thought. But the aftermath said differently. As Neku arrives on scene, he takes a quick glance around - and immediately spies Shiki. The host of feelings that come sweeping up - of memories half-remembered, of thoughts half-thought, of ideas half-formed - come screaming through his head and his heart, and Neku winces, his neutral face shifting into a scowl as his hands slide into his pockets. "...Minamimoto's gone?" No 'hi Shiki, how are you'; no 'hello, partner, are you alright?' Then again...anything else would've been so wildly out-of-character for Neku...right?

:'''[[Shiki Misaki]] has posed:''' "Well, you know, you don't have to hang out with us. You could go find a waterfall to watch too," Shiki says, shrugging. "The atmosphere around here's pretty relaxing. Or you could go look for an Adamantoise! You could probably beat one yourself." She's not even being sarcastic this time. She shrugs and puts herself back in her previous relaxing position. "Mmm. Waterfall." Waterfall /and Neku/. Gasssssp "/Neku/!" TShiki leaps up, recoils, clutches her hands together, stares at him, grabs. "Ahhhhh there you are I haven't seen you in months where have you been are you OK where did you go how did you get here?" Pause. "Yeah, he's gone."

:'''[[Priel Aylin]] has posed:''' Apparently having run out of that precious resource known as patience, Priel just rolled her eyes again from where she sat, watching the waterfall boredly. Oh look there was some spikey haired lad approaching and asking about that rather entertaining fellow that had blindsided the group some time earlier! ...Wait a second. Why'd he know about that? Let's take a moment to have the gears turn in her mind. Shiki is alive. But she used to be dead. She was playing some sort of game that involved dead people. Sho was one of those who killed dead people. Apparently these dead people have partners if Shiki's constant insistence for pacts was any indication. "...Ohhhhh, this must be your boyfriend that you ditched for Reize, isn't he?" And of course that's the first thing that comes out of her mouth. Priel rests an elbow in her lap and her chin in her open palm, idly staring at Neku. "......" And then she asked. "So, tell me Shiki. If you're alive now, does that mean that he is too? Partner and all~?"

:'''[[Lenn]] has posed:''' Lenn nods, "You probably COULD. And I'd even pay you for anything you find I could use for jewelry." She then blinks at Neku. "Wait, you're that partner Shiki had before she joined us, aren't you?"

:'''[[That Jerk Neku]] has posed:''' Shiki grabs his hand, and Neku is immediately assaulted with two very big realizations, backed up by Priel's helpful(ly bitchy) commentary. First: there's no counter on Shiki's hand, the blood-carved clock of her life that remains firmly sliced into Neku's. Second: that Shiki is just fine, despite all his predictions that she'd get herself killed on the second day. Lenn asks if Neku is 'that partner'; Priel calls Neku Shiki's boyfriend. Immediately, Neku throws his hand to the side, knocking it out of Shiki's grasp. "So what? I ditched her. I don't need a weak partner holding me back." Neku's hand slides back into his pocket, hiding the Countdown (it's been dropping fast) from Shiki and the others hurriedly. The fact that Shiki is alive has him angrier than before - subtly so, though, not a noticeable twist or anything but a slight slump of the shoulders and a slight lean to his spine. She was weak. She was indecisive; she stumbled around having fun with her friends. How did she come back to life and he didn't? She kept her memories. She got her life back. It wasn't fair. Neku turns away from the group, exhaling. "Congratulations," he observes flatly. He doesn't need to tell Shiki that he's not alive, and he doesn't need to tell the others - the presence of the Counter was proof of that, and Shiki would surely pick up on it the moment she grabbed his hand. "Which way did he go?"

:'''[[Lenn]] has posed:''' Lenn frowns. That clock on his hand looks omin- And then he badmouths Shiki. "Look here, buster. Shiki Misaki is many things. Creative, a tiny bit vain, and pretty enough I get jealous. But weak is Not One Of Them! If you're not smart enough to have figured that out yet, she's probably the only reason you got by back then." The normally gentle elf... is PISSED.

:'''[[Shiki Misaki]] has posed:''' Oh, for a brief, wonderful moment Shiki forgot you were here, Priel. That rather nice moment where Neku is here and hey, maybe we could catch up on life, and maybe he was feeling like a nicer person through the magic of travelling the world is interrupted in classic fashion. Shiki turns around to make a witty repartee! "Agh pfuh blah blat!" Waving her finger at Priel, too. OK, that didn't go well! "Yes, Lenn! This is Neku, who is a friend of mine! Indeed, he sure is a friend. A very good friend!" Hand behind head, a ha ha ha ha we're not involved and I'm not a stalker either. "Sometimes he says silly things!" Oh, and then something awkward comes up, when Priel mentions 'that thing'. There's a brief moment of uncertain tension, involving everyone looking at one another awkwardly. Shiki finishes it looking at Neku. Then, proving that although Shiki Misaki is many things, quick on the uptake is not one of them. "/Did/ you? I mean, it would be cool... if you... did...?" Oh my gosh this is so awkward. It gets more awkward when Lenn speaks up! And Shiki actually flinches and tries to cover her mouth mid-way through the spiel. "A ha ha, we're all kind of tired and stressed out, we were walking to get here for days! How do you like Daguerreo, anyway? It's pretty peaceful! Full of smart people! Sho's not here, though. I'm not sure where he went! But hey you must be tired after getting here too, right? Why don't we take a load off and go get some dinner?" "(I'm a bit vain?)"

:'''[[Priel Aylin]] has posed:''' "...Well. That was totally a witty comeback. I'm at a loss for words." Priel spoke sarcastically, rolling her eyes at Shiki's response. Neku's observation of her character earns a chuckle from the redhead, who looks away briefly to laugh to herself. And then the addition of Lenn coming to Shiki's defense just made her laughing worse. "You guys are hilarious! Really...!" A couple more moments to laugh it out and then she sighed, calming down a little. "As for that guy you're looking for, wonderboy, he's gone. Disappeared. Without a trace. Poof." With each word spoken Priel made scattering gestures with a hand as if that would help illustrate her point. "Basically, you're not going to find him." Pause. Oh wait, she knew. Not that she'd be saying anything. Whoops! Par for the course then!

:'''[[That Jerk Neku]] has posed:''' Neku could care less about Lenn. He could care less that someone he's never met - let alone one of Shiki's friends - is ranting at him about how strong Shiki is. The introverted Player doesn't even turn around to face her. "Then would you prefer 'backstabber'?" Neku asks, his voice colder than the waterfall. "...that's fine. That's what life is. It's a series of people stabbing each other in the back. That's how you stay alive." "I don't need a partner I can't trust. And since I can't trust anyone, I don't need any partners." Neku shrugs. The music in his headphones gets a little bit louder, the modern hip-hop pushing against the world a little harder as Shiki speaks up. Again, that rush of hazy feeling and fragmented memory comes running through Neku's chest, and he reaches up, putting his hand against it. Why couldn't he remember anything? No, more importantly, why did he keep getting teased with these little fragmented shards of his life, the flashes of days that must've gone by but now are nothing more than ghosts? Neku throws his hand out to the side. "If he's gone, then tell me where he went. I don't have time to waste with a backstabbing partner and her cliche friend, and I don't have time to waste hearing about how wrong you think I am." Literally. The clock on his hand is almost *frighteningly* low. A little less than a day left. "So just hurry up and tell me where Minamimoto went, or get out of my way, unless you want to get hurt."

:'''[[Lenn]] has posed:''' Lenn looks to Shiki, and whispers to the former Player. "(You don't rub it in, but a little. I am, too. But someone pretty as you is almost expected to have a tiny bit... You just don't throw it around. That's a good thing.)" She then looks at Neku, and whispers. "(What's that clock?)"

:'''[[Shiki Misaki]] has posed:''' Lenn is /probably/ saying something. Shiki is having a little difficulty processing it, because Neku is still scaring her and things aren't any better than they were and now she's hurt and confused again and all the colour has drained out of her face. "Baglumh," she ekes out. "Bnh- N-neku, I don't, I don't understand what's going on any better than you do... honest... he, he just showed up and he was being all crazy again, and I don't know what he's talking about, and I don't know when it happened or how, how it happened, or..." Looking at Neku's clock shuts her up again and she just sort of turns off to her left, clutching her knuckles together and making a worried, whiny noise.

:'''[[Priel Aylin]] has posed:''' "Ahhh, the sound of misery. Lovely." Priel idly comments, looking over her nails meanwhile. No wait, those were clearly talons. Whoops! "It's been a pretty long time since I heard that. Ahhhhh...I missed it~" In which Priel gleefully continues to not help. ....Okay, maybe she'd help a /little/. If only because Neku running off on his own and getting vaporized would be an absolutely hilarious headline. Oh, she could see it now. 'IDIOT BOY OBLITERATED IN FUTILE STRUGGLE AGAINST IMMORTAL ENTITIES'. Oh god it was brilliant. "...Say, you know what Reapers are, yes? Use your tiny brain for a second." ...And that was about all the help she was going to give.

:'''[[Shiki Misaki]] has posed:''' Shiki is just kind of standing there, tiny voice. "i don't know, i hadn't seen him since traverse town and he just popped out of nowhere a couple months later and then he was gone again, i can't even remember /how/ he disappeared, but oh my gosh that clock's so low and he'll die if he doesn't do what he has to before it runs out oh my goooosh what're we gonna do lenn?" fret fret

:'''[[Hades]] has posed:''' There is a voice from off stage. "She's right, you know," Hades says leaning against the wall, looking...indifferent. "It is SUCH a wonderful sound. Your misery.." Looking to Shiki, "...And your despiration." Hades says towards Neku. "Though, your callousness is JUST amazing. Sho was right, you WOULD make a wonderful Reaper." He says towards Priel. "But enough with the pleasantries..." he says, looking towards Neku. "You're almost out of time...and I would hate for my star of this season of The Reaper's game to vanish before it even began!"

:'''[[That Jerk Neku]] has posed:''' SPEAKING OF IMMORTAL ENEMIES Priel and Hades are a tag-team of terror in this particular match; Shiki's cheering on the sidelines, but Neku's all on his own. The Player Pin in Neku's pocket is almost biting into his fingers - he was seriously considering just using it to read Priel's mind /right now/, but, well, with Hades' appearance...he'd probably know. Both Shiki *and* Hades remind Neku of exactly what the stakes are in this game, and he closes his eyes, tightening his grip on the pin. What did he have to lose? Neku throws out his mind to Scan - sure enough, Shiki's immune (Player Pin), Priel's thinking somethi- Neku suddenly doubles over in pain, falling to his knees as agony races from his Player Pin to his skull and back down to his toes. For a brief, horrifying instant, Neku understands what it means to be Hades, and immediately shoves the thought as far out of his mind as he conceivably can before it does any more damage. Not that it really needs to, obviously; he's already in intense and miserable pain. But Neku is nothing if not willful (ha ha haaaa). He pulls himself to his feet a moment later, wobbling, and then starts walking. "...fine. I'll find him myself. He'll show up. He can't not."

:'''[[Priel Aylin]] has posed:''' the fact that Hade was just /there/ did not surprise Priel. Immortal beings tended to be like that. ...She'd know. Call it personal experience. The subject of being a reaper earned a shrug from her and she just shook her head. "So I've been told. It's a pretty tempting deal though..." Pause as she rests her chin in her palm again, watching Neku and Shiki posture where they stood. "...And it does sound rather entertaining." Of course, Priel had absolutely no idea that her mind was on the verge of being read. Instead, all she managed to take from the situation was the sight of Neku simply doubling over in pain for a moment. "...Oh? What's this? Giving up on life?" Another pause, and then she corrected herself. "Or well, giving up on getting your life back would be more accurate I guess~!" But no, spikey haired lad #78437287 rose back up to his feet, reaffirming the fact that he'd have to find Sho on his own after all. Priel just smiled and fluttered a hand after the boy mockingly. "Have fun~"

:'''[[Shiki Misaki]] has posed:''' "Neku-!" Shiki is really, extremely worried all of a sudden, not least of which because she recognises that a man whose head is on fire probably does not work in a library. This doesn't mean she can't rush over to catch-ish Neku when he doubles over, and try to help him up, even though he'll probably just brush her off. And he does, and he walks away. Shiki pauses for a moment, instinctively wanting to shy close to Lenn and Lily, but just as equally wanting to go after him-- and cognizant of what both options mean. "Wait-- don't go by yourself--"

:'''[[Hades]] has posed:''' Hades looks amused at Neku. "Not smart kid, not even remotely smart. I'd make myself immune to such little things, but it's so much more fun when mortal's kill themselves in th process. Hades laughs, "BUT...I like you, you've remind me of someone, not that his name matters right now, but you've got something I want to keep in this game." Hades says to Neku, suddenly appearing next to him with a puff of brimestone. His arm over Neku's shoulder, "I can grant you the one thing you need most right now..." he says, making an hourglass appear. "Time." "It's your choice, but I'd hate to see such a promising young person go so soon to the game...especially with something as important as you have on the line." Hades smiles. "Think about it.." He says, and is suddenly back next to Priel, "You on the other hand...you'd be a crowd favorite. Cruel, self interested, people would LOVE to hate you..." he grins at her, "So...I'd make you right to the Harrier Reaper ranks...get RIGHT into the spotlight, RIGHT into the meat of the matter...the ability to delete players if they cross you...to crush hopes and dreams, power to remove anyone you don't like...without actually having to lift a finger to do it." he says, and hands her a scroll. "Sign the contract, get the power, or don't. Reguardless, I think you have a future ahead of you...with me or with some of my...associates." he says, and vanishes, appearing before each one again. "...Oh right, you." he says to Shiki. "Well, enjoy the fruits of others hard work and sacrifice...you look pretty happy with yourself."

:'''[[Shiki Misaki]] has posed:''' "I have absolutely no idea what's happening any more!" Shiki says, really pretty paralysed by... everything. Where's that helpful white-haired girl when we need her? "Hey." Oh, there she is. The woman with white hair over one eye, and the blue spaghetti-strap dress reappears, walking down the corridoor. She sniffs the air. "No smoking in the library. Hey, hothead with the brimstone. You have anything to do with the flaming blue wolves and foxes that one of the scholars said were on the east side of the island?"

:'''[[That Jerk Neku]] has posed:''' Don't go by himself? A little late for that right, Shiki? Neku's thoughts are as acid as his voice. Angry, disjointed thoughts. He's been fine by himself all this time, after all. Why would anything need to change? Even the Game's new rules hadn't been able to kill him. All that was killing him was Sho Minamimoto's cowardice. Running and hiding wasn't how this Game was played. It was a blood sport. Priel says something, and Neku bites off a retort. Her words were barbed, after all; her tongue was sharp, and she apparently was favored by Hades, who was /also/ apparently the new head of the Games. Neku probably got a mail about that on his phone. He also probably hadn't cared enough to read it when he saw it wasn't a Mission. Hades makes his offer, and Neku actually pauses in mid-step. He tilts his head over his shoulder, like he's actually considering it. More time would make his life a hell of a lot easier. He could find Minamimoto, rip him limb from limb... But wait. Hades had something Neku wanted. If he was in charge of the games... "No," Neku says after a long moment of consideration. "Not right now. I'm not desperate enough to rely on anyone else. I got this far on my own. I'll keep going until I know I can't go any further." Then, he'll probably die. But oh well. That was life, right? Nobody lives forever.

:'''[[Priel Aylin]] has posed:''' All of the qualities that Hades described about Priel did not insult her in the slightest. In fact, she smiled in amusement afterward. The contract was taken after and unfurled. "Hmn...yes, it does sound like fun now. Messing with idiots running around on dangled strings~" The perfect way to alleviate her utter boredom with her current state of life in these worlds. Shard Seekers? ...Well, they were convenient, but Priel horribly doubted that she would ever be seeing her world again, or at least any time soon. A glance was spared towards the utterly lost Shiki for a moment before she rolled her eyes and took the pen, signing her name onto the contract without a single ounce of hesitation. "There. Anything else you need from me~?"

:'''[[Shiki Misaki]] has posed:''' Something goes *pop* in the fusebox connected to Shiki Misaki's brain, unfortunate as it all is. The terrible war between 'the need to follow Neku' and 'the need to stay by her friends' side', compounded by Priel's... infuriating behavior, Hades' sheer presence, the lingering revelation and-- the sudden intense crush of the days of slogging suddenly crush her in the face. Shiki realises she's a lot more tired than she thought. And then Priel goes and does /that/. Suddenly, Shiki has no legs. Giving up entirely on concious thought, she passes out like a flipped light switch, collapsing at Lenn and Lily's feet.

:'''[[Hades]] has posed:''' The Contract goes up in harmless flames, signaling that the contract was made. Hades smiles, "Excellent. Right now? Nothing...buttt..." A VOOOOSH of power, DARK power... Race: Reaper. Class: Reaper. Pin: Ask Neku OOCly because I am not familar with this. Abiltiies GET: Summon Noise, Heartless. Abilty Potential: Get Coorridors. Need to level up your rank with Hades. "For now...eh, nothing." he says, and hey, GET REAPER WINGS. "Though maybe mess with her. She seems nice and vulnerable." He thumbs at her, and blinks at the appearance of a person. "Wrong guy." he says to her, and watches everything turn up Hades.

:'''[[Lily]] has posed:''' This couldn't POSSIBLY be any worse. Lily's been silent for much of this time, just making shocked noises... and giving Hades the absolute MOST DISAPPROVING look in the world while her mind whizzes to try and process what's happening. But then down goes Shiki, and Lily rushes to catch her - likely with Lenn's help... And Priel. Oh Priel. The little mage's eyes lock onto Priel as she witnesses what's happening... "... Why. You. Throwing away everything Ivo did... every bit of trust we've tried to give you, you've thrown it all away. Time after time. And now... now... you want to be like that awful man hunting after Shiki?!" Temperatures around Lily are STEADILY rising. "What's wrong with everyone... what's wrong with both of you?!" This she yells at Neku and Priel alike while her heart sinks!

:'''[[That Jerk Neku]] has posed:''' Shiki goes down; Priel signs the contract; Hades exploits the living Hades out of everybody involved, and Neku gains yet another enemy to keep a watch for - an enemy who's apparently a friend of Shiki's. He was about to say something, or at least do something for Shiki's sake, when Lily suddenly starts shouting at him. Neku closes his hands around his pin. The ground starts to shake around him as his Pin reacts; he's pissed, now, full-on pissed. They were friends with someone who'd just sign their lives away like that? Neku's getting really angry, and this is almost a battle, so he might even be able to wield his pins now. Heck...the world is different now. Maybe he can use his pins just fine. He's really tempted to try. ...but no. No, that was a bad idea. He didn't want to have to fight Hades, Priel, the Heartless, and an insane wizard thing, even if he was pretty sure he could take at least two of those things (Hades isn't one of them). The rumbling stops, and Neku loosens his grip on his pin. "Shut up." Neku snaps. "Everyone always wants something from me, thinks they're better than me, thinks they know better than I do about what's best for me. I just want to be left alone! Is that so hard to get through your self-righteous skulls? Leave me the hell alone!" He turns away from the scene and just walks away. Minamimoto was out there somewhere, and he was going to hunt the Reaper down and beat him to death with his bare hands if he had to. Beat him...more to death. To Erasure.

:'''[[Shiki Misaki]] has posed:''' "No fighting in the library," the white-haired woman says to Lily, slight warning. She sighs, and presses her fingertips into her forehead, leaning the same elbow in her other palm. "Mh... I sense a lot of anger in you. You... you are going to need this training too. It'll benefit you." She leans down to pick Shiki up, with help. "Let him go. This situation will not get any better in an atmosphere like this. Discipline will be necessary..." "Ah, at least that's what Master Kumoto would say if he was here, I'm sure." She looks at Hades and Priel. "Sir, madam, you'll have to show yourselves out. I apologise."

:'''[[Priel Aylin]] has posed:''' Priel watched at the contract burned up, and then as Shiki promptly collapsed into a useless heap. Well, that was funny! But inconsequential at the moment. She turned her attention back to Hades juuuuuust in time to be beset by DARK POWER. She can feel it run through her, feeling something fundamentally change. ...Well, the most obvious was that her usual tail seemed to have vanished, replaced by some sort of vague shape resembling the bone of the tail. And her wings, which were usually hidden were now in sight, also of similar vague shape. "Huh..." Priel mused to herself, angling her tail around to look at it. It was going to be weird not having that be flesh at blood anymore! ...At least not at the moment anyhow. And then there was the matter of the pin in her possession. A reaper pin. Funny design. "I wonder just what this does..." Shiki used these weirdo pins all the time. How did these work. Just focus? Or maybe- Oh, there it is! A couple Alterna Wolves flicker into sight before Priel and she whistled in appreciation. "Oooooh....! I see. So then..." Whoosh. They were erased like that, and she giggled to herself. "Ehehehe, interesting, interesting!" Lily's voice cut into her gleeful experimentation then and Priel glanced over to have a look. "...Throwing away? What did I throw away now?" The redhead asked, tilting her head slightly with a mocking smile on her face. "After all, one can't throw away what they never had in the first place, right? Riiiiight~?" Her smile widened into a grin then and she added on. "Please, as if any of you ever thought anything of me to begin with. This is easier. You go your way, and I'll go mine." That said, Priel nonchalantly rose up to stand, shooing Lily away with a hand. "Anyway, go on. I'm sure you and the others have 'best friends for life-yet also harem mates' things to engage in, yeah~?" Completely nonplussed about Lily's well known temper, Priel look more than ready to disappear herself.

:'''[[Hades]] has posed:''' Hades looks towards the white haired woman. "You know, I got a first job...right now." Hades says, looking towards the White haired woman with a small grin. "Burn this place down." Hades says, "The death of your former friends is optional, but the more the merrier in the underworld." he says, and poof. "Don't worry, I'll see my way out..." his disembodied voice says.

:'''[[Priel Aylin]] has posed:''' Priel pauses at the order and brings a hand to her chin in thought. "Hmmmmmn........Sure~" And with a snap of her fingers, Priel sparks a flame that begins to grow wildly, catching onto some books on a nearby shelf. "If you hurry, you miiiiiight be able to put it out in time~" And then she fluttered a hand cutely before hopping back and outside, her reaper wings taking flight. "Seeya~" With that, Priel was off, leaving the others to deal with the potentially problematic flames!

:'''[[Lily]] has posed:''' So much freaking out. So much noise. So much anger. Yet the library staff woman does the one thing that would possibly calm Lily down before she lashes out with building magical fury at Priel! "nhh...hrrggh... you--!" And then Hades gives the worst news possible. Burn this place down?! What. WHAT?! Worse, Priel goes through with it. Very quickly, Lily tries to calm herself as the flames begin growing. Focus, focus... The temperature around her instead plummets now as she reaches out with her mind and soul, reaching out towards the blaze-- The temperature goes absolutely FRIGID, sucking all the heat out of the area... which would certainly prevent any fires from burning. It may take a few moments but the fires will be subdued quickly. "... next time... next time I see her, I'm going to blast her." Lily's trembling hard. Shivery. Shakey. And on the verge of tears.

:'''[[Lenn]] has posed:''' Lenn frowns, and produces a crystal, a very weak ice magic trickling out to work to snuff the flames. "Hmph. Make all the contracts you want. Come after Shiki or any others of us? You signed a death warrant instead. Ask the Dark Elf about me sometime... now that you're buddies..." She narrows her eyes...

Artisanquest: Sittin' Around Daguerreo

2013-04-30T21:24:55Z

Shrimptoast: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2013/04/28 |Location=Forgotten Island - Daguerreo |Synopsis=Shiki and friends finally reach Daguerreo! They sit around and she exposits a bit on Sh..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2013/04/28
|Location=Forgotten Island - Daguerreo
|Synopsis=Shiki and friends finally reach Daguerreo! They sit around and she exposits a bit on Sho, and then we meet a moogle.
|Cast of Characters=Lily, Shiki Misaki, Deelel, Leida, Evja
|pretty=yes
}}
:'''[[Shiki Misaki]] has posed:''' We finally made it! At the central point of the island's water flow, in a cave in front of a huge lake, is the Hermit's Library of Daguerreo. Having been journeying here following their violent encounter with Sho, the group will likely take some time to rest or explore the surrounding area. The entrance to Daguerreo is lined with torches, leading to a mostly central location that branches off into several different sub-locations. The ground floor level is covered in a shallow layer of water-indeed, water is everywhere, flowing all over the place. A central statue of a dragon god seems to be the source. This water doesn't seem to interfere with the many, many, MANY shelves of hundreds of books all over the place. Archways and corridoors lead to workshops and lecture rooms and there are many scholars and adventurers, especially on the upper floors of the area.

:'''[[Evja]] has posed:''' Much as the Viera had ever been doing, Evja had made it a habit to, once he felt strong enough to manage under the weight of his own armor again, get onto his Chocobo and keep a vigil regardless of where they were at the moment. As ever Priel had her napping/lounging spot if she wanted it, Evja wasn't the type to care about such. Plus it did give him an extra, though possibly half-asleep, pair of eyes as he slowly wandered with the group. When they finally got to Daguerreo, however, it may have been obvious that the Judge was starting to get tired. This could mostly be seen in that he took off his helm and hung it on the saddle and could be seen nodding off slightly. Yeah, probably hadn't gotten much rest at all during the journey here, though his attention did wander towards the various books and such, a bit of interest showing on his face. "I wonder why... the water does not damage the tomes."

:'''[[Leida]] has posed:''' Ever since their ambush at the edge of the island, Leida has been keeping to herself. Her outburst of dark power had robbed her of consciousness and it was not until only recently that she opened her eyes once more. Finding the party in new surroundings, she surmised that they must have ended up victorious against the strange young man who called himself Reaper, though the bruises still marring her delicate skin are reminders that such an encounter is not one she wishes to repeat. Seeing as no one has inquired about her short lapse of control, she chooses to let the matter rest for the time being. Even if they did ask, she wouldn't have any answer for them that was satisfying. Every so often she rubs at the arcane tattoo on her shoulder beneath the loose folds of her clothing. The seal has grown weaker but what that means, she does not know for sure. Nursing one of her arms in the other, the small girl wanders into the odd architecture, pausing at the entrance to look up at the circular rings of books lining the walls. She moves to the side to peer over the edge of the stone walkway down at the flooded bottom level, not quite sure what purpose the water or the crumbled archways that protrude from it serve. "Is this some sort of library?" she asks, turning to peer back at Shiki. It is the first time she has spoken since coming to and it is only her interest in books that finally manages to break her pensive silence.

:'''[[Shiki Misaki]] has posed:''' "It is indeed a library," replies the white-haired woman, who decided to come along with them for some reason. "Supposedly there is a dragon god who resides here. It both creates the water and protects things here from it. If you like, you can make an offering at the statue," indicating it. Shiki has been moving along at the back of the group for a while now. After what happened with Sho, she's been surprisingly sedate. "It seems very peaceful here," she comments. The woman nods. "The people here appreciate the atmosphere." Shiki doesn't know Leida's situation, nor would she comment on it because it's not very polite to.

:'''[[Lily]] has posed:''' The water's not bothering Lily at all. Now that they've made their way here safely, she's awfully relaxed and smiley. "Ahhhh. So many colors! Look at all the books!" She splashes a bit in the water, hopping about and giggling playfully, not really caring if she gets wet - but trying to make sure that the books don't get splashed!

:'''[[Evja]] has posed:''' "Huh..." Dragon god, huh? Evja slips off his Chocobo and walks over to Shiki, raising a hand to place it softly on her shoulder. "You going to be alright here by yourself? Or would you like someone to stay with you, in case that fellow comes back and tries to harm you? We have no way of knowing if this protection will extend to us after all." Of course, the woman they rescued does get a look as well as his ears wiggle above, visibly tired expression hanging on his face despite still being as protective and 'Judgelike' as he can.

:'''[[Deelel]] has posed:''' Deelel had been keeping back with the group after Priel's stunt and the fact Evja is here the basic has been pretty silent and guarded. What was going through her mind was hard to say but she'd not done a thing to cause any trouble at least. She looks at Evja and shurgs. "More data would be needed to know for sure. Water behaves strangely here anyway. Still there's so much information here it's worth the trip." She pauses for a moment seeming to be well uncomfotable with all the water. Hey if you viewed it like most people would view swimming about in molten steel, you'd not be comfortable with this idea of it being safe either. "At least your having fun Lily."

:'''[[Leida]] has posed:''' "A god...?" Leida looks mildly excited for a moment. The concept of gods in most of the places in the World of Ruin that she has encountered revolves around omnipotent invisble figures who hand down judgements and rules from on high without ever actually showing themselves or their touch in any real way. In her world, gods were much more connected to the world, often residing within specific places in order to perform their sacred duties. This dragon god sounds the closest to anything from home she's yet encountered. The princess turns and heads across the central dias, crossing the small stone bridge that brings her to the base of the dragon's altar. She peers up at the tall engraved mural, taking in the beautiful craftwork that has rended the serpentine form in bas relief. Instinctively she claps the palms of her hands together and bows her head to the image, closing her eyes as she does so to silently request the god's blessing and protection during their stay here. Without having much in the way of a sacrifice to offer, she withdraws a small handful of coins from her satchel and lays them at the bottom of the altar. Bowing yet again to the statue, Leida turns and makes her way back over to the group but quickly diverts her attention to the many many books surrounding them. "I wonder what sort of books they are," she muses out loud. "Do you think they have interesting stories?"

:'''[[Shiki Misaki]] has posed:''' A small aquamarine jewel appears from the shrine for Leida. Isn't that interesting? Shiki... shrugs, although she looks visibly helpless for a while before. "I think if Sho really wanted me dead... well, again... he'd just keep coming. Hopefully we knocked some sense into him back then and he'll keep away for us... maybe... for a while." For someone with a second lease on life she seems to be really lifeless. Thankfully, watching Lily is enough to put a smile back on her face. "For now, let's just scope this place out and find out what there is to do."

:'''[[Lily]] has posed:''' Lily IS having fun. Deelel gets a slew of giggles as she glances over a shoulder and twirls in place, but then calms a bit. It's not good breaking the atmosphere of this nice, calm place, but she's all smiles while l ooking around even so. "What were all of those weird words that bad Sho guy was hollering? None of it made any sense," asks the girl a moment later over at Shiki.

:'''[[Evja]] has posed:''' "I am not quite sure myself." Evja says softly towards Lily before offering Shiki a slight pat on the shoulder where his hand had been. A moment later he offers her a small whistle. "Here, hold onto this then. I think I am going to find a book to read and try to get a bit of rest with my Chocobo. If you need me, or something comes up, you can blow on it and he'll hear it and wake me up." The Chocobo gets an affectionate rub behind the neck at the mention of that. Well, the Viera did look tired even as he looked around as if trying to decide where to go. "Does anyone else need anything? Lily? Leida?" he paused and looked towards Deelel, "And your name escapes me, though if you need anything of me I could give, I will try."

:'''[[Leida]] has posed:''' The small gem that appears in response to the girl's prayer almost goes unnoticed as she is not in the habit of expecting such things. She cautiously scoops it up, admiring it in her palm for a few moments before giving another, deeper bow to the dragon god. Evja gets a sidelong glance in response to his question indicating that she heard him but she has no reason to keep him from getting some rest. Lily's childish enthusiam gets a quirked brow but the question she raises does bring up an interesting point about their encounter with Sho, which is that Shiki seems to be the only one who knows anything about all of the nonsense he was talking. "I too would be interested in knowing what it is that drew such a villain to attack us without provocation." The girl tucks the gem into her pouch and wanders closer to the others, staring at Shiki in particular. "If you would be so kind as to enlighten us?"

:'''[[Shiki Misaki]] has posed:''' Shiki makes an awkward face. "If any of you want me to explain, we're probably gonna need to sit down and have a Skiki exposition session again." She takes the whistle gratefully, clutching it in both of her hands for a moment before slowly putting it into her tote bag. "Thank you, Evja." She looks at the woman with white hair, who shrugs noncomittally, but motions for them to follow and leads them over to some plush couches who just happen to be sitting around in an alcove. Much like all of Daguerreo, home comforts seem to be everywhere without any real definition of personal areas. It's not even damp! Shiki sits down. "Well, guys. Until ... well, since before the Heartless destroyed my world, I've been... well..." She holds her hands out and shrugs. "Dead. Functionally, anyway. Still up and walking about, at least." "I was supposed to be competing in the Reaper's Game for another chance at coming back to life, and I was still doing it as far as I was aware. Now Sho tells me I'm not. That I'm alive... a person again, not a Player. So I guess he wants to kill me so I can go back to being a Player, since Reapers like him erase Players as part of their livelihood."

:'''[[Deelel]] has posed:''' Deelel is looking about for a moment "He's already got one of the Shardseekers to betray us." she notes before she shifts gears and she looks over to Lily who seems t listen her mood for the momen. The topic is otherwise dropped, "He was using math terms, fairly basic math terms." She sighs inwardly many of these users really were from stone knives and bear skins eras weren't they she doesn't say much more on the topic. She meanwhile is looking about for books herself. "Like the remants of the users I saw on the Phantom train? We did pull back one of the network's units. Tch the reapers sound like a virus."

:'''[[Leida]] has posed:''' Leida follows along quietly and takes a seat on one of the wide couches, grateful to have something soft to sit on with all of the stone about. She eases into the plush cushions and lets out a soft sigh as all of the fatigue and soreness of their journey seems to come rushing back at once. Her attention is snapped back into focus rather quickly as Shiki lets them know that she was recently deceased. "You... you were dead...?" She stares quietly at the other girl in mild disbelief. People typically did not come back from the underworld to her knowledge, but then, one of Legion's sisters had also been brought back from death so things obviously work a bit different here. Still, with her connection to the darkness, and more pertinantly, her power over the souls of the dead, it is quite strange that she did not sense anything of the sort from her. "So we were merely convenient collatoral damage for this 'Reaper' then." She frowns and looks away. "What an unpleasant sense of entertainment your gods have."

:'''[[Lily]] has posed:''' "I'm fine!" Lily waves a hand happily over at Evja before leaning against a bookcase face-first to peer at some of the titles... then screws up her face.

:'''[[Shiki Misaki]] has posed:''' These are some complicated books! There's all sorts of books about everything. "Technically, she just sort of stood there and watched us while making insulting comments, which is basically how Priel operates ninety-nine percent of the time anyway. Iiii think Sho didn't really have all that much to do with that." "And yeah, math seems to be his damage. It's like how the Reaper I met before was obsessed with treating people like they were food." This just keeps getting more and more disturbing, don't it? Shiki mentions it casually, but goodness only knows what she'd act like if she met Higashizawa again in this unified world. However, when Leida calls him a god, she makes a long snort through her nose. "Sho's not a god. He was..." And then she screws her face up for a moment, clutching her head. Like she was trying to find a memory and only discovering a big nasty sore spot there. "He wasn't a god," she just repeats, at a loss for any further embellishment.

:'''[[Leida]] has posed:''' "God or not, I think we can safely assume him to be unfriendly," Leida states softly as she leans back into the cushions once more. She allows one hand to rest gingerly in her lap while the other supports it in a comfortable position, keeping the tender bruises from being disturbed too much. "It is clear that this Sho was not a Shadow Lord, either. He did not command the Heartless," she says. "What were those... strange creatures that he sent against us? They appeared to be... well animated paintings."

:'''[[Deelel]] has posed:''' Deelel says "Prehaps you have a point, Shiki." Wel she's not fighting it for a moment ansd she looks at Shiki for a moment and just shutters at someone teating other people like that. "They did look like something I might paint soemwhere in town, I must admit." She istens a bit more but Shiki likely has defered future problems with a quick changing of trains of throughs for Deelel.

:'''[[Shiki Misaki]] has posed:''' "They're Noise," Shiki replies. "Specifically, Taboo Noise. They're something like the Heartless..." "Because when the Heartless tore down my world, they were doing it too." "Regular Noise are monsters made of bad vibes and negative feelings that can possess people and objects and cause a vicious cycle. These ones are Sho's personal breed of creepazoids. Way more aggressive and a lot harder to hurt. So I guess that makes him something as good as a Shadow Lord."

:'''[[Lily]] has posed:''' "Trans... mog...rification..." Lily's opened a book and is turning it all about. She repeats the word in her head a few times. Eventually, she turns to face Shiki and Deelel. Her attention span right now is really, really short, it seems. "Does that mean turning into a Moogle?"

:'''[[Leida]] has posed:''' Leida sniffs dismissively at the information, clearly not impressed. "Yet another annoyance to deal with." She supresses an amused smirk at Lily's question, tilting her head to peer at the strange young girl. "No, it means to transform from one thing to another. Though I suppose if one were not a moogle then turning into one would fit the definition as such." The princess looks around. "So... why did you bring us here, Shiki-san? Surely not to enjoy the esoteric atmosphere."

:'''[[Shiki Misaki]] has posed:''' "Kupo!" Shiki turns her head to see a little guy with a big red nose and a pom-pom on his head walk in. "Did someone call for me?" "Oh, hello," Shiki says, giving a little handwave. "You another resident?" The moogle nods. "The name's Kumoto!" "Well, Leida," says Shiki, turning back. "We heard that there was a legendary weapons master here. Me, Lenn and Lily wanted to come and train under him to get stronger and better at fighting. You know, since ... things didn't ... Sho kicked our butts." "But you still saved me," the white-haired woman says. "Your power is incredible, but it's untempered. You have a lot of passion and determination, though..." "I accept!" Shiki turns around. "Wha?" The moogle sticks his paw out. "Kumoto, the legendary weaponsmith, at your service!" "WHAAAA?"

:'''[[Lily]] has posed:''' "Mooooogle!" Squealing happily, Lily stuffs the book back in the shelf carefully and sprouts the BIGGEST grin. She has always liked Moogles. They are so very cute and fuzzy! So she's beaming at Kumoto's appearance... and ends up blinking a few times at his announcement. "Shiki, you didn't tell me the smith was a Moogle." But, sensing that Shiki is similarly surprised... the girl blinks a few times. "Oh... ahehe.. nice to meet you, Kumoto! My name's Lily!"

:'''[[Leida]] has posed:''' "I see," Leida says. She has little interest in weapons or anything of the sort. Every attempt at delving into the field of battle or adventuring has ended poorly for the princess so she's decided that a life of travel and excitement isn't something that she's suited for. Still, having people are who /are/ skilled at fighting is never a bad thing when the bad guys come calling like before. Her gaze shifts to the cute and fuzzy little moogle, trying to imagine how he would go about crafting weapons that are probably as large as he is. It's very cute and comical in her head with the moogle hefting an oversized hammer up in the air to whack away at a piece of hot steel on an anvil. She feigns a cough to cover her mouth, hiding the smirk that comes unbidden at this development. "It would seem you are slightly mistaken, Shiki-san. This little creature claims to be a weapon/smith/."

:'''[[Shiki Misaki]] has posed:''' "Same thing," Kumoto says. "...you're not going to hug me, are you? I mean, I'm OK with that." "Master Kumoto is the same," the woman says. "He is both an expert at synthesising weapons and using everything he makes." "Well, if what you said is true, then these people certainly have potential to use my wares," Kumoto says to the lady. "If you're willing, we can begin training to see if you're worthy of wielding one of my creations! Kupopo!"