timecrossing | → don't fear the reaper ( for aniente )

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→ don't fear the reaper ( for aniente )

( If there's one thing Mai's learned during her time in this era, it's "expect the unexpected." It's how she's survived the violence and strife so far - by figuring out how to deal with situations she wouldn't normally deal with at home, she can avoid certain death.

But part of it, as Nobunaga frequently expresses, is her seemingly infinite luck. And today, apparently, that luck almost ran out.

The assassin is quiet and swift in the dark autumn night. She was up late that night working on one of her new designs; between her distraction and the distant trust that the creek in the roof was either the wind or Sasuke coming to visit her, she was caught off-guard by the intruder bursting in on her. She was even more caught off-guard when Nobunaga attempted to intervene, rushing into the room and coming to stand in front of her with that imposing promise of death he usually exudes on the battlefield.

And then there was this unfamiliar man who Mai had set up vigil for in the middle of the night. He had been another strange intruder who had quickly followed behind Nobunaga and taken out the assassin with what had seemed like barely the flick of his wrist. Or maybe Mai had been too distracted by the terror gripping her and Nobunaga ordering her to leave.

She had left, but news of the man who had saved her quickly swept through the castle, as had the news of his injuries. Mai had pled to Nobunaga to allow her to tend to the man who'd rescued her under Ieyasu's watchful eye; after all, she's spent a lot of time training under the grouchy young lord. She would be able to treat a flesh wound.

And... well. She wanted to thank him.

So when Rikka awakens, it'll be to Mai wringing out a wet cloth and gently placing it on his forehead. )

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[As a rule, reapers typically don't travel through time. They're capable, but time travel is such a tangled mess that they try their best to avoid it. The only reason one would bother in the first place is to follow after a time traveling human before they make too much of a mess.

Sadly, by the time Rikka was assigned to Mai, the situation was already a disaster. She's already prevented an important historical figure from dying when he was supposed to, and now Rikka's been tasked with babysitting her to ensure that she doesn't cause or prevent any deaths while the gods sort it out. "You're the only one that knows Japanese history that far back," they'd said. Personally, Rikka thinks they were just finding an excuse to dump another hard job on him. But he doesn't complain — maybe this job will be enough for them to finally, finally let him disappear.

Not even a full week into his observation period, the girl gets into trouble. Rikka's been warned to not use magic unless absolutely necessary, so he's forced to corporealize to prevent any deaths. The massive gash he took while acting as a shield would almost definitely be fatal to a human, but for Rikka, all it means is pain and passing out due to blood loss. It can't kill him, nothing can.

And he's tried every method out there, so he would know.

There are perks to having a physical form, and sleeping is one of them. For just a little while, Rikka can stop existing. Usually, he would just sleep until he healed, but he has a job to do. He struggles to wake as quickly as possible, mismatched eyes cracking open at the cool touch of the cloth.]

At least... you can't get into trouble looking after me, [he manages, attempting to sit up. Big mistake, now he's bleeding again.]

( Mai almost doesn't notice him waking up, as quiet as he is and as focused as she is on her task. It's only when she hears the sudden low voice commenting on her godly ability to get into trouble and then him attempting to sit up that has her scrambling to try and urge him back down. )

Hey, no, don't get up—! You're gonna—

( Unfortunately, he's too fast and strong for her and not even her literally trying to push him down gets her very far. And then he does the exact thing she doesn't want him to. )

...open up your wound. ( Without further hesitation, she reaches over to grab more bandages and places it over his side to try to stop the bleeding. ) Agh, come on, mister dark and mysterious, lay back down already!

[It hurts. It hurts terribly, and yet after just a single hiss of pain, Rikka simply stares at her applying pressure to the wound in a detached manner.]

For the record, a wound like that can't kill me, Mizusaki-san. I'd rather you not press on it. If you can't control your meddlesome nature and you feel like you absolutely must help me, get me some sake.

[With that, he lies back on the futon, grimacing.]

I never liked Western beds, but it would be easier to sit in one.

[If she's expecting him to be forthcoming with how he knows her name or why he can't die, she can put a little booze in him first. It's only fair!]

You've got a huge gash in your side and all you can think about is getting smash— wait. How did you...?

( He says it so matter-of-factly that she almost blows right over the absurdity of his comment. But when it clicks, she's startled, body straightening into a stiff line. There's a brief instant where she's worried he's come here to hurt her or the other warlords, but that wouldn't make any sense. He did rescue her after all...

He'll have to excuse her for not jumping up to get him alcohol. She's too busy being skeptical, eying him warily. Slowly, she rises to her feet. ]

Okay. Is this some kind of prank? Did Masamune send you to freak me out? ( But that wound obviously isn't fake, so... what even. ) ...I'll go get the booze.

[Good. At least she's not so eager to coddle him that it makes her stupid. This job is a pain as it is, if she were to be dull on top of everything else, he'd be tempted to use his seniority to force someone else to do it. Rikka huffs, a soft sound that could either be a laugh or a grimace.]

Mmm. We can talk over our cups.

Yeah. Sure. Casual bros just taking shots.

( Shaking her head, Mai turns on her heel and exits through the thin shoji doors. Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi are waiting for her beyond the doors, eying her knowingly before they both get up and accompany her to obtain the sake. It's something Nobunaga ordered upon hearing Mai's request to speak with him. Even though this odd stranger was injured for her sake, the possibility for a snake in the grass remains. Who knows if this person intended to infiltrate or learn palace secrets, for instance? Or so the lords of Azuchi explained to her.

Apparently trust in the Sengoku era is hard won, even when gouged in the stomach to rescue another.

While they're aren't listening in on the conversation for risk of their presence being discovered, they remain close by, swords in hand. Nevertheless, Mai is content to let them do as they must. After all, if it gets her time to thank her savior, then she's all for it. And according to Mitsuhide, a little alcohol can do a lot to loosen the lips. May as well allow the chatelaine to have a cup with him too.

So when Mai returns, it's with the promised sake-- quite an expensive one, too, for that matter. The castle is never short of good booze. With a deft hand, Mai pours them both a cup before handing him his, a trouble look on her face. )

Alright. I spilled the alcohol, you spill the beans. How do you know my name?

[Finally, she's gone. Though he doesn't think he can move very far, he's confident he can get into a comfortable sitting position without her around to scold him. Mai will find him sitting up when she returns, wearing a dark scowl. It figures that he has to deal with pain the first time he's taken a physical form in ages! He'll accept the cup graciously, at least.

Rikka's foul mood melts away nearly instantaneously as he takes in the aroma of the sake. It's very high quality, he doesn't even have to taste it to know. Not that it comes as that much of a surprise considering just who owns this castle, but still! He hasn't had something this nice... well, he may have never had something this nice.]

Now this is helpful.

[Don't mind him savoring a sip. He sighs as he sets the cup down, brushing a few stray hairs away from his face.]

Answers are always more satisfying when you find them yourself, don't you think? So tell me, Mizusaki-san: what do you think happens when a time traveler changes the course of history as drastically as you have?

( Wow. Okay. The guy likes to drink. Tuck that away into her repertoire of information for a rainy day. He seems less of a crank now that he's gotten some of it into him, which is nice. Except he's being a bad patient and totally undoing all her work with that wound, but what's a girl to do?

The strange man in front of her is almost serene when he drops that goddamn bombshell right in her lap. Congratulations, Rikka. You've left her sitting there completely stunned. She sits so deathly still for a moment it's almost like she's stopped breathing entirely. Fear lances up her spine as she gazes at him with wide eyes. )

You... ( Her voice is shaky and her posture straightens up into something more guarded. ) You know about me? How? The only people who know are Nobunaga and—

( She closes her mouth abruptly. No need to drag Sasuke into her mess if she can help it. Especially if this guy doesn't know about him. )

[Wonderful. So she's told people that she's from the future. What else has she told them? And why wasn't this included in the briefing?! Rikka's smile falls flat, giving way to a far more serious expression.]

I'm a reaper. When someone's time is up and they fail to die on schedule, we take notice. You should consider yourself lucky that killing you here in the past would only further complicate things. I'm here to keep this mess from getting any worse, so I won't allow you to die until heaven has decided what to do with you.

Reaper...

( The word doesn't process right away. But then the full impact and weight of it is laid bare in front of her and Mai almost feels the pit of her stomach drop out of her. It doesn't help that he's staring at her so blankly as he tells her some otherworldly force has been watching her and the things she's been doing in the Sengoku period. It sends a lance of fear through her chest as she sits there and struggles to settle on an appropriate reaction.

And then he mentions something about heaven 'deciding' what to do with her because of her 'mess', and inexplicably (stupidly?) she finds herself settling on irritation. )

Wait. You guys are blaming me for all of this?

[At first, he's satisfied that she's finally understanding how grave her sins are. Rikka returns to his cup, taking another drink while Mai pulls herself together.]

...we aren't blaming you for the temporal displacement itself, no. But you are most certainly responsible for your own actions. Not only are you an adult, but you're an adult from this country who is perfectly aware of who all these men are. Despite that, you have decided to not only remain near them, but you knowingly prevented the death of a prominent historical figure. Surely you won't try to say all of that isn't your fault? A responsible person would have fled as far away from any familiar name as they could. You had choices.

( For a moment she feels the fire of wanting to argue further, but she closes her mouth at the last second. She lets out a frustrated sigh. )

Alright, you're not wrong about that. I am an adult, and I am responsible for my own choices. However, ( she holds up her index finger as if about to make a crucial point ) can I just say that in the moment I arrived in this time, I had no idea Nobunaga was who he was until I'd already rescued him. I may be from this country but I'm not, like, all-knowing on every single bit of history. And even if I was, expecting me to react in a perfectly rational way after I'd literally just been blown into a new time and someone was about to burn to death in front of me is kind of expecting a lot from a girl, don't you think?

[Did she truly not know? That will affect how the scales are balanced, though Rikka personally thinks she deserves to be sent straight to hell for being a pain in the ass. After mulling it over for a few seconds, he bows his head.]

If that is true, then it will be taken into consideration. However, it won't excuse anything you decided to do after realizing his identity.

[Rikka runs a hand through his hair again, but this time, he ties it back so that the eye with the red emblem is completely exposed.]

I would like to verify your attestation. Please stay still.

[Without any further warning he leans in until their noses are almost touching, staring directly into her eyes. The eyes are the window to the soul, after all, and that is especially true for a high-ranked reaper like Rikka. The emblem glows slightly, and so long as she listens to him and doesn't move, he'll have access to her soul in short order.]

'Decided to do'? It's not like I had much of a choice. You try being a human good luck charm for a castle of warlords against your will!

( Honestly, she needs to have a few words with this guy's department head. It really sounds like they need to do more research. But then he's moving closer and his eye is doing something freaky and— )

What... what are you doing?

( It's more out of self-preservation than obedience that gets her to remain still for him. Mai swallows hard, and she's sure he can probably hear the thundering of her heartbeat with how close he is. Whatever he's looking for, she's an open book. There's plenty for him to find there— the wormhole, the burning of Honno-ji, her pulling Nobunaga to safety, him taking her as his spoils of war. And then, perhaps the one thing she would try to keep hidden, is Sasuke, the friend who came with her to this time. )

[Thankfully for Sasuke, Rikka's in no mood to spend more time sifting through her memories than is necessary. He only looks back to the moment she saved Nobunaga, where he affirms that she truly didn't know who he was at the time. He does go forward a little bit after that to take note of her thought process after she found out his identity. it's at that point that he pulls away from her, sighing heavily and downing the rest of his cup.]

A lucky charm, is it... I see. I'll include your circumstances in my report.

[If he isn't allowed to die after this job, he's going to riot.]

I don't think there's any need to discuss it further for now. Until my physical body recovers, I won't be able to take you away.

By 'take me away', I have a sneaking suspicion you don't mean home...

( God, this is unbelievable. Are the heavens really wagging a celestial finger at her for screwing up time? To be fair, it probably isn't the greatest thing in the world, but honestly? They should probably watch their wormholes a little more closely if that's the case. The whole snatching up unsuspecting humans thing is really a big safety hazard.

Speaking of safety hazards, her eyes cast down to that wound in his side. She quirks a brow at him. )

How does that work, anyway? You said you were a reaper. Doesn't that make you, you know... ( she gestures at him vaguely ) Impervious to human weapons or whatever?

[She's correct. Rikka has no way of transporting a live human through time, and even if he did, he's been ordered to remain in this one with her while her fate is decided. Since she's already inferred that he won't be taking her home, he doesn't bother with saying anything about it.]

Mmm. I was ordered to not use any magic while I'm here — throwing sorcery into an already volatile situation could be disastrous. Therefore, my only option was to corporealize and take the blow myself. My corporeal body isn't all that different from a human's save for the fact that I can't die. Unfortunately, that means that I have to sit around while it heals itself. Speaking of —

[Rikka nudges his cup toward her.]

My body hurts. Pour me some more.

( Oh, geez. Seems Mai's really gotten herself in a mess here. It was bad enough being stuck in a different time, but having a reaper intervene and 'decide her fate' is even more daunting. She takes his explanation in silently, eventually taking a deep breath to let it out into a dejected sigh.

Geez. Can it get worse? ...Actually, no one answer that.

When he requests more alcohol from her, she scoots forward a bit, reaching for some more bandages. )

I'll pour you some more after I'm done patching you up. Again, for the record. FYI, you should probably be careful with how much bleeding happens when you're in a human body. Now you hold still this time.

[It would take all of two minutes for her to simply change his bandages, but Rikka is a petty, bitchy little thing. He views Mai's choice to delay serving him as a power play, because that's exactly what it would be if he did so himself.

Naturally, he can't just let her win.]

Isn't it better if my senses are dulled before you do that? Besides, as I said, I won't die from this. It's unnecessary. Unless... you want to cause me pain? Or —

[Rikka twists away slightly, crossing his arms over his chest and lowering his lashes like a prim and proper maiden before continuing:]

You want to undress me? I'm a divine being, you know!

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→ don't fear the reaper ( for aniente )

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