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"Of course you can kill a reaper. Doesn't necessarily mean they'll stay dead, but there's a decent chance of it. As for how to kill them, it really varies between reapers. There's really no definite way to do it."
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"I see..." Hideto mused, trying to think of more questions...really, at this point, he was mainly trying to see what was like the legends and modern stories he knew, and what was completely different from anything he would have imagined...which, so far, was everything.
"Where do reapers come from?" |
"Different reapers come from different places. Some were human once, other's were never human. Some are fallen angels. It's really a case-by-case thing," he said, sitting down on the floor and putting Mamimi down in his lap. The kitten curled up and began to purr loudly, completely content with being still and petted.
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"Some were human once? What happened to them?" Hideto asked, now beginning to wonder what this meant for him. Did this mean that he might become a reaper someday? The thought honestly made him nauseous.
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"Idiotic humans try to bargain their way out of death. If the reaper they belong to is old enough, they might have the power to turn the human into a reaper in exchange for their, 'life'. Though of course, it won't be much of a life once they become a reaper. Shozii was never human, so he can live like anyone else can. Unlike most humans who become reapers."
He scratched the kitten in his lap behind the ears. Although the lack of light made it impossible to tell their eye color, it was obvious that both cat and man shared the same color eyes. "Odds are that you won't become a reaper when you die, not unless you really want to, and if you're taken by the right reaper. If that's what you're worried about, you can relax." |
Hideto laughed softly. "Unlikely? That's...ironic," he said, clearly relieved. He felt strange...he had a lot of questions he wanted answers to, yet he couldn't think of most of them now that he had the chance to get answers!
"Are there any...evil reapers out there? Or other things like that?" |
"There's evil everywhere. In humans as well as in reapers. Evil is in human nature, regardless of the lies they tell themselves." He picked the kitten in his lap up and slowly got to his feet.
"Since you're going to be staying, you might as well eat something while you're here," he said, heading for the door. "Why don't you come get something to eat?" |
Hideto shuddered slightly as he tried to process the information in his mind, suddenly realizing something that relieved him greatly. "But then...there's good in everyone too, right? The same goes for reapers?"
The mental processing of that last statement caused the food question to register a little late. Laughing nervously, he stood up and followed,realizing he was starting to get a little hungry. "And...yeah, that sounds like a good idea." |
"I'll let you answer your own question," he said, leading Hideto into the kitchen and turning on the light. "Do you think there's good in Shozii?" he asked, turning to face the boy. The kitten in his arms turned her head to face him as well, mewing softly as though trying to be part of the conversation.
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"I think so...after all...I'm still here," Hideto replied. As he finished that sentence, he noticed something about Zaitsu that struck him as...very odd. He stepped back in shock, trying not to react too strongly...but still, it was a bit surprising.
"Your...your eyes..." he said, not really sure whether or not he should say anything...or really be surprised at all at this point. He was beginning to think that any minute now, he would wake up in the hospital after surgery for injuries from being hit by that car...everything from that moment forward seemed too strange to be true. |
"Are red. Yes, I think I know what color my own eyes are," he replied with a weak smile. "Did you react this way to Shozii's eyes, or is there something more frightening about the color red than orange? I can go put on my contacts if it would make you more comfortable in my presence."
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"No, it's okay...I'm...mostly just surprised I didn't notice before. And...I can't even remember all the things that...surprised me today. There have been so many..." Hideto replied, laughing nervously. "I...I'm sorry..." he added, deeply embarrassed by his reaction.
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"You don't have to be sorry. I tend to get that reaction a lot, so I usually wear my contacts to hide my eye color in public."
Mamimi let out a small cry, as though demanding attention and recognition for her matching eyes. Zaitsu looked down at her and shook his head a little, sitting her down on the floor and going over to the kitchen sink to wash his hands. |
I'm still sorry...I mean...as much as has happened today...I probably shouldn't have even been that surprised," Hideto sighed. He looked down at the kitten, rather amused by the way she seemed to demand attention
"So...does everyone have a matching cat?" he asked with a slight laugh, noting the fact that both cats that he'd gotten a good look at had eyes to match someone here. |
"You don't have to be sorry, I've gotten worse reactions." He looked down at Mamimi for a moment, considering what Hideto had asked.
"The three of us do. Humans don't. They're more than just cats." He dried off his hands and pulled out a clean pot, filling it with water and placing it on the large stove. |
As soon as they saw him, both Brodie's parents rushed forward. His father-a tall man with dark hair and a beard- looked angry, his mother-a plump, kind woman- looked, well... "Mom, Mom I'm fine!" His muffled plea came weakly from beneath her tight hug. Even if she weren't smothering him, she probably wouldn't be able to hear him over her own voice, she went on and on about 'how worried we've been,' and 'how we couldn't bear the thought of burying two sons at once.' By now he was feeling awfully guilty, fate couldn't wait at least until after Terry's funeral?
"Mom..." he pushed away without looking at her. He was sure his father had something about irresponsibility or some other jargon he was going to say, but he let Brodie push past him as well. He supposed that he had to interact with them eventually, at the very least he had to know where the car was parked, but right then all the talk of Terry was the last thing he needed. His parents were left at the desk, unsure of what to do or say to him, they thought it best to leave him alone for just a minute. His mother, thought, did keep a close eye on him through the hospital window, flinching every time a car drove by. ((Time zone changes are weird. Unless, of course, if you two really are role playing at three in the morning.)) |
'God this kid is dumb,' he thought to himself, rolling his eyes and hurrying after Brodie. He made his way outside and to the boy's side.
"You're being really stupid, you know that? There could be a reaper anywhere just waiting to kill you. You need to be more careful. Andrew saved you for a reason, don't throw away your second chance." ((Phantom is two hours behind me. It was four in the morning my time. ^^;; I fell asleep about six in the morning while online. It's eleven and I'm awake now. I don't sleep very much. ^^^;; )) |
"I guess at this point...I shouldn't really be surprised," Hideto said, another soft nervous laugh escaping. "So...what's the story on these cats?"
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"Simplest version? They're an extension of our souls," he replied, digging through a cabinet for what he wanted to eat.
"What do you want to eat?" |
Hideto raised an eyebrow, tempted to ask what he had meant by that...but at this point, he doubted he would understand any explanation. "Food...um, I'm fine with anything, really..." he said. He paused for a moment to think a bit about the cats again, and it finally prompted the question...after all, maybe he'd understand.
"And...what do you mean, they're extensions of your souls?" |
"We're connected. We can see through them and they can see through us. They're like a separate intelligence of the same soul. They're the embodiment of our animal instincts and urges. For now, Mamimi is too young to be much of those things for me. Instead, she's the part of my that's still childish. As I grow older, she'll grow older."
He pulled down box of macaroni and cheese to make. It was simple and wouldn't take long, and there would be enough for the both of them. "Anything else you want to know about us?" he asked, his gaze falling upon the boy again. |
"Probably...though I...can't really think of what right now," Hideto said, closing his eyes and searching for the questions he wanted answers to...they were there, but this entire...situation was so overwhelming, he couldn't think of most of them, and the ones he COULD think of, he just couldn't figure out how to ask and have it make sense. But one did finally leap out at him.
"Oh yeah...what exactly are you?" |
"I'm not exactly sure what we are. That's a question for Andrew and Shozii. All I know is the reason they saved me is because I'm a reincarnation of someone they used to know. That, and our kind originated in ancient Egypt."
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Brodie flinched slightly at his words, they were more than a bit distressing. "What? All of a sudden I can't even brood without dying?" He looked up at the man, he could tell he was slipping back into his recent antisocial disposition.
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"Fine. Do whatever you want, kid. Just don't go running to Andrew to protect you when you suddenly realize you want to live." He vanished from Brodie's view, though he was still nearby. He just didn't feel like being seen.
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