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 Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 3:32 pm
What? No! She had just gotten rid of this nightmare! However, the same scene--albeit with a few minor differences--had reformed almost immediately, leaving Xiu to wonder just how frequently Shun had this dream in the first place. The dojo, his younger self, his father, and his present self chained to the wall--were these all parts of a reoccurring nightmare?
She winced as the man brought a hand down on the child again, furiously glancing around for something she could do. Finally, her gaze fell back onto the present-day Shun and she perked up. Perhaps if she could get him free...
Xiu gingerly made her way across the cracked floor, her heart beating rapidly as she gingerly stepped towards the reaper and the wall. Once she reached him, she immediately made a grab for the shackles, intending on trying to pry it free. To her great frustration, her fingers simply ghosted through the object. Shun was trapped by something that she couldn't even touch.
"D-do you know if there's a key?" She asked suddenly, looking hopeful. Even if she would be unable to touch the key, perhaps she could have the younger Shun could pass it over somehow. And if there wasn't a key? ...Xiu hadn't thought that far yet.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 3:41 pm
While the older Reaper was tormenting his younger self, Shun looked over at Xiu while furrowing his brow.
"None that I know of," he answered plainly. The frustration was evident in his voice, "Who knows. Maybe there is. Not like I can get it while I'm like this thought."
With that, he moved his hand against the chains, gritting his teeth as the metal bit into him some. It looked as if the chains had cracks of light in them as well, but that didn't seem to alter how strong the apparently were. After moving against it for awhile, he just let his hand drop back against the wall. If anything, it seemed that the chains tightened, as if it was its own living entity.
"There's no point, really," he hissed.
The ground shook, and strange noises could be heard all around. It was hard to tell what they were exactly. There seemed to be a whole mess of various things, from shouting, to cries, gunfire, and more. Off to the side, there seemed to be something bright approaching as well, though it was hard to tell what that was exactly.
On the floor across the room, the younger Shun huddled up in a ball, having been struck a few more times.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 4:11 pm
"None?" She repeated, biting down on her lip. Well, he said none that he knew of--what about the younger Shun? Perhaps she should ask him? The poor thing had been hit the last time she looked at him, but when she turned towards him again, she found that he was huddling into a ball as his father continued to attack him.
Just as she was about to head over there, she overheard the present-day Shun's words. Frowning, she whirled around and looked at him disapprovingly, propping her hands up on her hips. "D-don't be so pessimistic! This is your world, so there has to be a way out. Just...imagine one!"
While she couldn't directly manipulate his dreams, her uncle had always told her that it was sometimes possible to manipulate through the dreamer by using suggestions. Now that she had mentioned the key, perhaps Shun had unconsciously dreamed one up somewhere in the area? Or maybe he had created some other form of escape.
Xiu scoured the area, but when she didn't spot anything different, she temporarily gave up her search in favour of rushing towards the younger reaper. This time, feeling as if the floor wasn't going to crumble below her, she was less careful as she ran across the room, falling to her knees right beside him. Again, she tried to scoot around so that she blocked the man from view, but she knew that it wasn't much. He could still go through her and hit the little reaper.
Until a way out made itself clear, all Xiu could really do was sit there and try to provide some kind of a comforting presence to the little boil. Her only other possibility at the moment was to eat the nightmare again, but she had a feeling that it would only return with each attempt.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 4:46 pm
"Don't be ridiculous," Shun hissed in response to Xiu. What the hell was she even trying to get at here? He didn't have the power to just spawn things in the world. At least he didn't think he had that ability. Letting out a huff as he watched her dash off, he just glared towards the ground.
Sensing someone coming close, the younger boy curled up a little more tightly. When he realized that it wasn't his father, he peeked out, staring at Xiu. He didn't really know what she was trying to do, but before he could say anything, he saw a bamboo sword strike right through her, and smacking him on the head.
"AH!" he cried out while clutching his head and curling up tightly again. All the while, his father continued to rant at how utterly worthless he was.
Between the two groups, the floor cracked some more, and from it, rose a heavily mangled reaper. He didn't look anything like the other two, and it wasn't because he had a gaping hole in his chest. Blood dripped to the floor and it looked as if Fear particles were slowly escaping him as well. This stranger, was slowly making his way towards the Shun against the wall.
The words the new Reaper spoke was a garbled mess, and it was partially drowned out by the mass of noises that had filled the room. The look in his eyes seem to be out of fury, if not vengeance. His hand formed into a sort of clawed gauntlet.
Gritting his teeth, the older Shun struggled against the chains some more, but as with before it was no use. He stared hard at this half-dead Reaper as he continued to approach.
The stranger stood there for a moment before his hand suddenly struck out, plunging straight into the other's chest. Shun's eyes widened and he sort of choked out a cry. The other man's pulled back abruptly, holding a fresh heart in his hand. It was then that his image flashed to that of his father, no longer wounded and looking pretty well actually.
"You won't be needing this..."
All the while, the bright figure continued to approach.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 5:15 pm
Xiu flinched when the sword went right through her, and she very, very gently put an arm around the boil's shoulder. "D-don't listen to him," She said, trying to sound as firm as she could manage while the man was ranting right beside her, "You...you're not worthless. No matter what he says, you--"
Cutting herself off, her eyes widened at the loud sound of cracking. When she slowly turned around, she choked on a scream as the gruesome reaper rose from the cracks. Despite her instinct to curl up in a ball herself, as pulled the younger Shun a little closer, whispering urgently that he should keep his eyes closed. She wasn't sure if he would be able to see the bloodied reaper in the first place, but she didn't want to risk it. What was that thing going to do, anyways? If it came this way...
Xiu's stomach clenched at the thought, and she began to quiver. She shot a quick glance at it, and then froze. Wait, was it...was it heading for Shun? But he was trapped! There was no way that he would be able to get away before the thing reached him--
"Shun!" Her hand flew to her mouth. She didn't know what had happened, but one minute there was the rattling of chains as her friend tried to get free, and the next, it was silent. It wasn't until the creature stepped back that she saw what had happened--the red, dripping heart that it held in it's hand, and the hole in Shun's chest where the organ once sat.
Xiu didn't even take note of the bright figure before she clenched her eyes shut. She was going to be sick.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 5:34 pm
The young Shun tensed up at Xiu's touch, flinching a bit from it. He didn't uncurl at all from his spot, so he also missed what had happened with his older self. It was possibly for the better that way.
While his eyes had dulled somewhat as he stared at his own heart in the hands of his father, it seemed that the present day Shun was still alive. A line of blood leaked down from the corner of his lips and it seemed that he was going to go limp pretty soon.
"No objections? Good," the older Reaper said with a sinister smile.
Around then, the brighter figure had reached the two. Each step taken seemed to fix more of the cracks in the ground and such. The dojo was slowly shifting to being back to normal, instead of being a distorted mess. The mass of sounds had faded as well. The exact details of the figure were hard to see, but it appeared to be a female.
Silently, she reached up with her hand passing through the image of the father and gently taking a hold of the heart. The father dispersed, leaving only a faint echo of his tauntings behind.
Kneeling down, the hazy white figure carefully looked over the organ, before gently pushing it back into his chest; her hands lingering here while the wound closed, leaving no trace that the heart had been torn out at all.
Shun stared, seemingly mesmerized, as well as incredibly confused. He didn't have much of a clue what was going on here either.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 5:54 pm
She didn't want to open her eyes. The cacophony of noises assaulted her eyes, and she let out a little whimper as the image of Shun's heart being torn out flashed through her mind. She began to pull her arms and legs in tightly when it suddenly...stopped. The noise faded into silence, and despite the fact her eyes were closed, Xiu felt as if the atmosphere had lightened.
She opened an eye, jerking back slightly as she noticed a very bright figure amongst the scene. With each step forward, it seemed as if the place was being purified somehow. Opening both eyes now, Xiu slowly relaxed, watching with anxiety as the feminine figure approached Shun and the father who still had the heart clenched in his hand. "Be careful! He..."
Her warning trailed off when the father's image disappeared. Xiu watched with wonder as the heart was replaced back into the reaper's chest, and when the wound disappeared, well...it was like it had never happened. It was like it was a bad dream (she was aware of the irony of this statement).
"But who is that?" The Baku blurted aloud, rising to her feet. Maybe it was some other part of Shun's mind--a happy memory? Someone he knew?--that had come to save him from the nightmare. Never had she seen anything like this. Momentarily pulling her gaze away from the bright figure and the reaper, she leaned down to regard the younger version of Shun, brows knitting together in concern. "A-are you alright?"
Was the nightmare over now?
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 6:06 pm
The white figure then reached and brushed her hands over the chains, which crumbled upon contact. Pulling Shun to his feet, she looked up at him. Taking his hand, she slowly faded off.
Looking around, the Reaper tried to see where she went, but there seemed to be no traces of her. All that was left was the normal dojo, both versions of himself, and Xiu.
Looking up slowly, the younger Shun stared at the white figure in confusion before looking towards Xiu.
"..I don't really know..." he said quietly, sniffling a bit.
".. Please don't let my father know you've seen me like this..." the child pleaded, regarding the tears.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 6:19 pm
Whoever she had been, the figure had managed to fix everything. The darkness was gone, the cracks were patched up and, most importantly, both the present-day Shun and younger Shun were free from his father. For this dream, at least, and for now.
Xiu frowned at this, but her attention was drawn back to the little boil as he spoke. Her expression quickly made way for a softer smile, and she reached out to pat him on the head, careful to be gentle. He had taken quite the beating from his father. "I won't say a word," She assured him, her voice firm, "That I can promise you." Heck, even if this wasn't a dream and she could speak to Shun's father, she would never tattle to a man who would hit his own child.
...Speaking of which, was this father in question still alive? In the real world? ...Did he still treat Shun like this?
If she ever met him, could she...could she use that "knee between the legs" move that Roch had taught her?
Despite generally being non-violent, the thought of doing so made the Baku smile slightly with satisfaction. Considering how the nightmare had ended, she felt that she could relax for now. Turning towards the present-day Shun, she tried to beckon him over. "Are you okay? I think you should definitely thank that figure if you see her again."
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 6:30 pm
The boy seemed to relax a bit at Xiu's reassurance. Nodding to her, he just brought his knees up to wrap his arms around. The threat might be gone for now, but he still didn't look very happy.
"Thank you miss... I.. I really am tough and strong... F-father just.. won't see it..." he mumbled, "I really do try hard.."
Still somewhat dazed with what had happened, it took a moment for present-day Shun to realize Xiu was speaking to him. Turning towards her, he looked around once more for any sign of the mysterious figure but found none. With a sigh, he made his way over.
"I guess.." he started, "Though I don't even know who she is. I.. kinda feel like I do.."
Trying to figure it out, he shook his head.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 7:25 pm
"You're very tough and strong," She assured him, smiling, "And yes, I'm know you're a hard worker too. No matter what you father says, keep it up the good work, okay?" Even if she couldn't change the past--the fact that Shun was abused and pressured as a child--it still made her feel better to comfort Shun's younger dream-self. The least--and in this situation, the most--she could do was show a little kindness.
Looking up as the present-day Shun approached, Xiu gave the child another smile before she stood off, looking off to where the figure had once stood. "She was familiar to you, then?" Puzzled, the ghoul hummed to herself thoughtfully. Maybe it was a memory of someone who was or is important to Shun.
Whatever the case, she had saved Shun. Xiu herself wasn't sure who the bright figure had been, but she had sensed a lot of warmth from her--and maybe a very, very vague sense of familiarity, which she had dismissed as something else.
"Whatever the case...you should wake up now before either of us catch a cold. Sleeping on a bench isn't a very good idea, you know."
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 7:41 pm
The younger Shun stared up at Xiu as she reassured him. There was a little bit of confusion in his eyes, but he seemed appreciative of what she said.
"I think so..." Shun murmured, trying to figure out where he knew her, "I don't know. Like she's usually there or something."
Shaking his head, he soon looked to the Baku with a sense of confusion. What was this whole thing about him falling asleep on a bench? He was awake as far as he knew.
"Wait..what?" he started, but that was when the dream cut out.
Back to reality, Shun let out a muffled groan while his consciousness came back around. There were a few beads of cold sweat at his brow, likely from that nightmare of his.
"Wha..." he mumbled, a little disoriented from having just awaken.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 8:04 pm
Xiu emitted her own quiet groan as she sat up, rubbing at her back where she had been leaning against the bench. While she hadn't felt any discomfort while she was in Shun's dream, now that she was back in her own body? Her neck hurt from the uncomfortable angle she had been in. At least they were back in the waking world now though.The Baku stood up and, without making her presence known beforehand, leaned over and flopped across the back of the bench, directly beside Shun.
"Hi, aniki. Nice nap? You should know better than to fall asleep out here." She didn't say anything about the dream--if he didn't remember what had occurred, or the fact that she had been in it, then that was fine. She wouldn't try to remind him. If he did remember, however...
...Well, hopefully he wouldn't be too upset by her dream-diving. In the end, she had learned much more about the reaper than she had initially intended on knowing and, honestly, it was a little heartbreaking. Peering up at him thoughtfully, she silently reached out and pat him on the head.
"You okay, aniki?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 8:11 pm
Hearing a familiar voice, Shun straightened up some and looked to see Xiu nearby. It seemed he had passed out on the bench here. Luckily for her, he only remembered vague bits and pieces of his dream. It wasn't really enough to form anything solid.
"Mmph.." he started while trying to regather his senses, "I'm fine."
Running a hand through his head, he peered up at her, wondering how long he had been out. He really only meant to take a little break.. not actually sleep.
"What are you doing here?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 9:27 pm
"I was taking a walk when I saw you here. You didn't look like you were having a very good dream." She pointed to the beads of sweat that had formed on his brow. Of course, seeing what he had been dreaming about, she couldn't blame him. Digging through her the front of her obi, the Baku extracted a neatly folded handkerchief and offered it to the reaper.
It was a good thing he didn't seem to piece together that she had invaded his dream. At least, she didn't think he did--if he had realized it, he was being very good at hiding his emotions.
...Well, this was Shun she was talking about.
"You're going to get a cold. Go back to your dorm and get some rest." Xiu said firmly, moving around the bench so that she stood in front of him now, "And...uh, have sweet dreams."
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