Day 47: Sun Room [4th Shift]
[For Yuna!Fish and chips weren't his favorite thing ever, but he did make sure to eat it all. He just liked to think of the fish as the Filet'o Fish without the bun and it made it easier to eat. The french fries had been pretty well cleaned off and he'd even managed a bit of fruit, although he avoided the oranges and other sour things his nurse
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"Uh...," he answered, crossing his arms and thinking furiously, "No, not really." He wasn't sure what more to say- they're just rule of cool? For decoration? In 'The World' almost everyone had wavemarks- if not on their faces, then usually somewhere on their body. He'd heard something once about them having to do with the 'waves' or magical elements underlying the game's setting, but as far as he knew they didn't actually affect anything.
And here he was wandering around with them, where there were people who claimed to have never even heard of an online game. They didn't realize that Haseo wouldn't have put such permanent markings on his actual body.
"They're wavemarks," he finished simply, and decided to leave it at that unless questioned further. However, he did manage to dredge up a half-smile, in the interest of not looking completely rude. "Why?"
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Ayumu tilted her head to one side a little and shrugged. "They remind me of marks that I saw on someone else," she replied, pursing her lips for a moment with a thoughtful air. "Except his were more angular, not curved. And pointing the other direction." And as she spoke she traced something v-shaped on her cheek, mimicking the red marks on the face of the being she'd encountered the night before.
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"You mean you're the one that-- talked to that guy?" What was left of the smile had long faded by the time he thought to turn towards the girl more. When it came to Kitecopy and Aura and the idea that they might be connected somehow, he didn't know what to think. "About the girl?"
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She glanced back over toward the board, making a pretense of searching for her post for a moment before gesturing in its direction. "He did manage to show me a picture of her, though. That's how I know what she looks like -- but not her name, or who she is." She paused a moment, then added, "But you know her, as well?"
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Shino had once told Haseo about an absent goddess, and at the time he hadn't known how much things would change... or that he'd once had a hand in an attempt to destroy her, the ultimate AI. The thought made him feel a bit ill, though he tried not to show it, shifting his weight in order to put a hand on his hip.
However, in that brief pause of thought he realized that if there was a reason the one he'd followed so long thinking was 'Tri-Edge' looked like the one who had saved 'The World' the last time something crazy had happened - in the process helping Aura reach her full power - then it might not have been too far-fetched that there was a connection.
"Er, in a way," he answered after a beat, a slight touch of irritation in his voice. "Her name is Aura. She's... been missing for a while." And was the AI goddess of a videogame. Haseo didn't think he could get away with mentioning that- aside from "Aurora" in R:2's backstory, it was questionable how many current players knew of her at all.
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"I told him that I'd help him look for her, but from what you said, it isn't possible for her to be here. Why is that, if both you and he are here?" Something about this didn't fit, like she was missing a vital piece of information. The one last night hadn't been a patient -- that much had been apparent even without Haseo's comment on the bulletin. Haseo, however, was, even though they were apparently from the same place.
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"It's not possible," he said stubbornly, though for a moment he glanced away, the slightest bit unsure. He was grasping for something to say that would skirt the truth without contradicting it, but as the seconds ticked by in this conversation, the more it seemed he was saying things he couldn't even claim to know himself. It wasn't that he wanted to lie or anything... just that he didn't know where he'd even start. Hell, forget the playerbase in general, even some of his regular party members knew nothing about that stuff. The search for the Key of the Twilight, Epitaphs and AIDA....
"It'd be like... bringing a country here. As a person," he said, then shook his head. "But... hold on. I don't even know who you are." His frown deepened as he fixed an evaluating gaze on the woman. "You aren't from 'The World'."
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"How can that girl be -- well, something other than a person? She certainly looked like a person, in the image he showed me." Ayumu only quirked one brow slightly in response to his frown, looking entirely innocent. "Of course I'm from a world. Maybe not your world, but I certainly don't belong here."
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"My friends and I were all playing that game before we showed up here and... so was that guy. He's not-- really a normal player, though." An AI, most likely... something to do with Aura? Contemplating it while in the midst of a conversation was a little beyond Haseo, but not for lack of trying. He paused, mind on the events of almost seven years in the past in comparison to what little he knew in the present.
"And well, that girl is the game." At least how Haseo understood it, though the admission clearly disturbed him. He crossed his arms over his chest, running a hand subconsciously up the opposite arm. He'd thought he'd come to terms about Skeith before, but now he didn't think he could be sure being linked to the being was 'good.'
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