arashi 001 Δ arrival

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Who: Arashi & YOU~
Where: Espoir
Style: Either!
Status: OPEN!

She must've fallen asleep.

Sitting by Sorata's bedside, waiting for him to regain consciousness... it was the most painful thing she'd ever had to do. She looked like a mess; her eyes were red from crying so much -- she hadn't known just how many tears she had -- and she looked as

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[treefeeding]

Having arrived relatively recently himself, Seishirou has spent his time exploring the area, gleaning as much as possible about it. (He'd paused for a bit in order to converse with what, to him, had been a younger version of Subaru Sumeragi; that had been...amusing, to say the least.) It's natural for him to observe his surroundings carefully when in a new place. The dreamberry--the phone which had been with him on arrival--had not been difficult to figure out, and so far it had proved invaluable in learning about the world in which he now finds himself. In fact, he's using it now, scrolling through recent updates, a lit cigarette between the first two fingers of his free hand. Having reached the literal edge of the village in his cursory walkthrough, he would have simply turned around again and walked back, had he not glanced up from the dreamberry's screen for a moment and seen something in the stretch of field ahead that certainly hadn't been there a moment before

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Arashi snaps herself out of her initial shock and quickly works on analyzing the situation. She doesn't move from her spot, but is surveying the area around her, trying her best to find -- or sense, even -- something familiar

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Predictably, she lunges for him without a moment's hesitation. It really would make so much sense if he were the cause of all this, wouldn't it? She's right to assume--or she would be, but for one fatal flaw in her reasoning: she'd been there when this man died on Rainbow Bridge. Pragmatic, this one, but how had she not remembered that he should be dead? Could she possibly be...emotionally encumbered?

How unfortunate. Seishirou doesn't have that problem.

She's fast, and skilled, there's no doubt about that--but so is he. By the time she's gotten to him, he's quite simply not there anymore, having dissolved into a flurry of sakura petals. He reappears in the same way ten feet or so behind her, tucking his sunglasses into the breast pocket of his coat. His lips turn up in a small smile, and when he merely stands there, making no move to attack in return, it's obvious that he's mocking her.

It becomes painfully obvious when he actually speaks.

"Why such animosity, Miko-chan?" He questions, his tone seemingly good-natured as he

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Her mind feels so weighed down; she feels slower, like she's moving in slow motion. There are so many thoughts running through her head, that it was a little hard to concentrate. This is an entirely new feeling, and that fact alone, is enough to slow her just a split second.

And then he's gone. Typical of him, really. She whirls around at the sound of his voice, and stiffens at his words.

"I watched you die." If there is any emotional turmoil going on inside, she is very good at hiding it all. That's one thing she's had years of practice in, after all.

He should be dead... but there he is, standing before her, toying with her. Either he is an illusion, or his death had been one elaborate illusion. Either way... this does not look good.

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"Did you?" Seishirou's smile is unwavering. "Forgive me, I hadn't noticed. I was a bit...preoccupied at the time. I'm sure you understand." So he's confirming that he died, but not yet giving any indication as to how he might be there now. One hand slides into his coat pocket, while the other brings his cigarette up to his lips, so he can take one long drag. "You think this is all an illusion, don't you?" He chuckles as he drops the cigarette to the ground, crushing with a swift grind of his heel into the embers

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He's not denying that he's dead. Nor... is he really denying much of anything. If nothing else, he's voicing everything she'd been mulling over in her head.

Her expression twitches into one of disdain at the horrid new nickname. Arashi sincerely hopes he does not plan on continuing it. But she doesn't get much of a chance to react, because that strange device catches her eye. It looked like some sort of... phone? No, she'd remember if--

A pause. Then, she slips her hand into the pocket of her skirt. There it was, an object she does not remember ever slipping into her pocket. She pulls it out, revealing a device similar to the one that the Dragon of Earth was holding.

This isn't hers. She's never seen it before...

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"So you did." Seishirou says, sounding quite pleased as she pulls a device which looks very much like his from her pocket. "From what I have been able to gather," he continues, "it functions as a phone, a recorder, and a messaging device, among other things. It seems rather advanced."

He's perfectly comfortable making conversation with the girl who'd just taken a swing at him. In fact, he's somewhat used to this sort of thing. It seems that every conversation he'd had with Subaru-kun recently, for example, had progressed similarly. Are all Dragons of Heaven so dedicated?

"As suspicious as you may be, Miko-chan," he says at last, "This world is not of my making."

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She is not nearly as comfortable with this conversation as he is, but Arashi has perfected the art of pulling a poker face. Her expression is cold, and betrays none of the emotions swirling around underneath.

"And why should I believe anything you say?" Though, in reality, she is more inclined to.

Even if it wasn't him that created this illusion, there's a high chance that another Dragon of Earth was behind this. She didn't see any other reason for why she would randomly find herself in a strange world, meeting this man of all people.

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Seishirou chuckles at that. "You have no reason to." He acquiesces. "Beyond what can you can see for yourself, of course. I trust that your own observations will give you reliable enough information--and that it will correlate with what I say. I certainly wouldn't expect you to believe me before you can confirm it on your own."

He wiggles his own dreamberry in the air where he holds it. "You should give it a try," he suggests. "It's really quite an interesting little gadget. It does quite a lot for something so small. It does quite a lot by way of explanation as well."

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It probably isn't humanly possible to press her lips together any tighter than she is already doing.

But he has a point -- as much as she hates to admit it. There is nothing here pointing to this being any illusion she's ever known. And he's dead... Dead men, no matter how strong they are, don't make illusions.

"How long have you been here?" If he's making suggestions, then he's at least been here long enough to figure certain things out. She'd ask him where 'here' is, but Arashi would rather die than have to ask him, of all people, for anything.

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"Oh, I only just arrived earlier today. So not all too much longer than you have," he replies. "However, I have managed to do a fair amount of information-gathering, so I daresay I know at least the basics. It will be easy enough for you, too, if you do a little reading and observing."

The dreamberry goes back into his pocket, but he keeps his hand there, too. "I doubt you will need any further help from me." And he doubts she'd accept any, either. In fact, he assumes that implying that he's done anything to help her already will be enough to offend her further.

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The fact that she can't see his hand makes her uneasy. Thus far, he hasn't done anything threatening, but he seems like the type who would play games with his food before eating it. He is unpredictable, and she doesn't like it.

"No," She says coldly. "I don't." She never needed his help to begin with, and the fact that she didn't discover the device sooner is simply embarrassing.

But she can't just let him walk away. Dead or not, he's still dangerous. "... Where will you go from here?" She doubts he'll tell her, honestly.

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Playing with his food is Seishirou's absolute favorite thing to do, as a matter of fact. "Nowhere in particular." He tilts his head back towards the village. "I thought I would spend the rest of the day familiarizing myself with the area."

His smile stretches a little, edging into 'smirk' territory. "Why do you ask? Is it because you want to accompany me, Miko-chan?"

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She presses her lips together in disgust at the question. As if she would want to accompany him anywhere.

Yet, she would never be able to forgive herself if he were to hurt someone because she let him roam free. She doesn't respond, but her grip tightens on her sword, and she holds it out as a sort of warning. The message is quite clear: do anything to anyone, and I will end your existence.

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Seishirou gets the hint. He understands her message all too clearly.

...which is exactly why, essentially, he ignores it.

With a deep sigh, he shakes his head. "No need to say anything, Miko-chan. I understand. Such a pretty girl wouldn't want to be seen about town with an old man such as myself. I would only cramp your style."

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His comment catches her completely off-guard for a brief moment. It's unnerving how absolutely calm he is about having his life threatened.

Then again, she's seen the way he fights, and he is quite a formidable opponent.

Her brows furrow in mild annoyance. "This isn't Tokyo. There is no need to fight here." But it is obvious that she is ready to fight should there be a need.