[ closed ] catch-all for some post forest threads

[swordfucker]

Who: Guren & various others
Where: Various places
When: Post forest exploration, various dates
What: VARIOUS no I guess they're all Guren checking up on people
Warnings: None that I can think of...

Starters will be below! But hit me up if you'd like something with him, too!

Comments

[appraiser]

[ He might be his own person now, but it wasn't always the case. He looks up at Guren, shoulders drawing back a little. ]

Shadows come from people, but they don't overtake them... I was sealed inside Minato's soul. Everything I am... [ the kindness that Guren sees, the gentle nature ] ...that's all because of him. Like a demon. Are there good demons?

[swordfucker]

Inside of his soul, huh...

[But he's just a normal high schooler? He's been calling BS from the start, but that makes it even more so. He'll have to ask him later.]

Demons aren't inherently good or evil. They feed off of desires, which can be dangerous... and bloodlust is a definite worry with a quest for power. Still, I've never met a demon that isn't dangerous. [...Hmm.]

That's based entirely on the way we humans are using them, though.

[appraiser]

[ Normal high schoolers can get possessed by Shadow-demons, sorry for outing you, Minato.

But what Guren says about demons is a lot of what Ryoji thinks too; Shadows aren't inherently dangerous, but they can be. Even in the hands of somebody like Minato, who can borrow Ryoji's power to fight— although rather than bloodlust, he fights to protect, and that difference in mindset makes it okay somehow. ]

I think I understand. We cooperate because our interest align. [ "Cooperation," although there might have been some unconscious manipulation on Ryoji's part when it came to Minato, whoops ] That demon in your sword also helps you, right? Because that demon believes in you and your cause?

[swordfucker]

[He looks to Ryoji's eyes as he's asked that question. The demon believes in him and his cause? He's not sure he'd word it like that. The demon was no longer Mahiru— it had warped and devoured her personality entirely, until she was no longer the same person. Now, it was trying to do the same for him.

His desperate need for power to save everyone was feeding it more and more, and it was getting harder to push back. They both had the same goal, because they were becoming more and more the same person. Beliefs were out of the question. The demon was acting like an animal, on instinct, on what it was meant to do. By feeding on this desire, it could gain its own body and be free, and Guren's deep goals would become its own.

He blinks, but he doesn't move his eyes away.]

Yeah, something like that. It's a contract, but we're working towards the same thing. [In the end, he needs that power, and that's all there is to it. He'll achieve his end goal, and he'll fight to keep his humanity. So... he doesn't need to worry others.]

[appraiser]

[ Maybe it's not friendship, but to Ryoji, a contract is trust, and trust is strong. He trusts Minato more than anybody in the world, but he does not have a contract with him; he doesn't have a contract with anybody; he's his own person; maybe Guren is right. ]

I'm glad for it. Sorry, it must have been strange for me to bring it up all of the sudden. I thought it would be better to tell you now, than to find out later and have that shock.

[swordfucker]

You never have to apologize for sharing something with your friends.

[He's decided they're friends? Well, that's out there, and he gives Ryoji a very genuine, heartfelt look before he turns away, one of his hands resting at his hip and the other dropping to his side.]

I only wondered if there was a reason for it. Whatever your reasons, you can talk to me about anything whenever you want.

[appraiser]

[ Oh. He looks vaguely surprised at first, but then settles down into a beam. Friends... It's a word he very rarely hears used for him, although he will toss the word out generously to others. ]

There isn't a singular reason. Or maybe there wasn't a good reason at all, but I suppose I just wanted to be honest with you.

[swordfucker]

[It's been a hard time finding reasons to smile, lately, but Ryoji gets a small one out of Guren with that comment about honesty.]

Haha... really? [That's sweet, honestly.] I appreciate it. That's how it should be, I think.

[appraiser]

That's how it should be. And it goes both ways, so if you ever have anything you want to talk about, my ears are yours.

[ Like when you're feeling guilty about betraying your team!! tell him these things maybe ]

[swordfucker]

[Hmmm, no, he's a hypocrite.]

Thanks, Ryoji. [But he says that genuinely enough, and with his small smile still in place, it almost seems like he hasn't been killing himself over finding solutions to this!] I'll remember that.