stop eating grass seto

[antipathea]

[ So maybe Shin couldn't actually eat anymore. That was fine and expected; he'd been fully aware of the consequences of assuming a virtual form when he did it. But he could still remember how to cook and the taste of food and certain dishes. Day by day, spending time with the other few people that shared this little spaceship cabin, he was beginning to remember more about what humanity was really like - before Glass Cage and the human empathy project, before he learned about everything. And little by little, he was starting to open back up again. When they'd celebrated his birthday unexpectedly, he'd been pleasantly surprised - a feeling he hadn't had since that night on Tokyo Tower. But, moreover, he wasn't just pleased; he was grateful. That never happened.

Towards Seto, he especially felt gratitude. After all, he already owed him a great deal. Thus, for once, the bitter Shin felt like he ought to do something for someone, and that would be why he's in the kitchen, apparently making noodles. Just udon noodles.

Maybe he wasn't great at it, but he might as well try. ]

Comments

[wasthanked]

That's at the...grocery store. Can we make some?

[antipathea]

[ ... ]

... If you want to try it. Buying things for me is pointless.

[wasthanked]

[Even if Shin can't try it, maybe Seto can still get him a bubble tea toy...or something like that.]

Oh, right. Um. What other things do you like?

[antipathea]

[ he pushes up his glasses. What did he like? Not a lot. ] Why are you asking?

[wasthanked]

Because I want to get you something that will make you smile.

[antipathea]

[ and he stares blankly at Seto for a moment. This boy... Again and again, he'd surprise him like this, and Seto might be the only person in the world that Shin didn't think was capable of lying. Shaking his head, he smirks for just a half second before humoring him a little. ]

... Books. Handmade onigiri. The countryside. ... When I was alive. [ pause. ] Looking at the stars.

[wasthanked]

Okay.

[His expression brightens immediately when he hears the answer. The more Shin says, the more Seto realizes that Shin and his grandpa had so much in common. He doesn't know about onigiri, but there were plenty of books. ]

Mm. The stars are nice. They were beautiful on Earth. Grandpa had a telescope in the observatory...at the very top.

[antipathea]

[ that... does seem to catch his attention. Before he'd transferred his memories into Glass Cage, he and the other scientists had tried to snatch up land once the disaster hit. He remembered buying an old observatory for that express purpose. ]

Seto. How far from Tokyo Tower was your home?

[wasthanked]

[He didn't expect that question, not that it's difficult to answer. Seto glances away, trying to think that far back.]

Uh...it didn't take me long to get there. It was still the end of summer when I left and...when I got there.

[Not exactly meters or centimeters but that should give him a good estimate.]

[antipathea]

Days.

[ because that doesn't help... ]

[wasthanked]

[you should have taught him math you jerk this is your fault.]

I think so. A lot of days.

[antipathea]

... You said it wasn't long. [ this is like trying to give a cat a bath. ]

[wasthanked]

It didn't seem to take that long, but...

[WOW SETO.]

Oh. I have a map.

[antipathea]

Let me see.

[ good job saying please Shin ]

[wasthanked]

Okay!

[To the abyss that is his bedroom. There's a bit of noise as he sorts through his hoard to pull out his old maps. Yes, ones with doodles and sketches of monsters in the area and other silly things. He reappears moments later and holds out the paper for Shin to take.]

Here.

[antipathea]

[ Shin stares after him for a moment, then turns back to put the noodles on the table now that they've cooled, brow furrowing. How odd.

When Seto comes back, he takes the paper wordlessly, looking through them... wow, that's a lot of doodles. His funky ghost powers let him levitate the papers all together in front of himself, and he tries to put them together in his head.

It's not exact, but... ]

This is my observatory.

[wasthanked]

[It doesn't register in Seto's head at first what Shin means. It's his? No, it was Grandpa's. Actually, Seto's not sure who it belonged to. He just knows they took up residence there because it was safe. Did Shin own it before that?]

...Huh?

[Seto keeps his eyes on his ghost friend. There was something familiar about him, but he attributed that to the fact they met prior to the Thor.]

It was yours? I don't understand. I thought it was...Grandpa's.

[antipathea]

I purchased it before I created this form. [ he touches his fingers to his chest to make it clear he's referring to himself right here. It was strange, to be split into two pieces - in a way, he wasn't the "real" Shin. That was why this was worth investigating. ] ... Perhaps I never made it back there.

[wasthanked]

[Seto seems fixated on Shin's face now.]

So does that mean...all those really big books in there were yours?

[antipathea]

[ Shin gives him a questioning glance. ]

... What sort of books?

[wasthanked]

[Many hours were spent staring at the book spines in his grandpa's archive. When he says them out loud, it sounds like something he's memorized, but doesn't fully understand.]

AI Technological Singularity and...Project Glass Cage Execution Summary.

There were a lot there. Those looked like the hardest to read.

[antipathea]

... Those are mine.

[ yeah, this is weird. Could it be that he'd made it there and then died? It's not like he'd moved his belongings in there yet when he bought it... ]

Perhaps I died there.

1/2

[wasthanked]

...Huh? Grandpa had your books?

[The moment Shin says the phrase "perhaps I died there" something occurs to him. Time seems to be moving slowly now. There are many things he remembers about Grandpa. Grandpa didn't like to talk much, Grandpa liked to read his books, Grandpa liked udon noodles and things very salty and above all Grandpa liked the stars.

It's weird. Seto spent a great deal of time watching him and Shin held himself the same way, though it was a bit different since he was floating. There was something familiar about him that had bothered him from the moment they met. He pushed it aside.]

...Died there.

[The words come out quiet and he sounds shocked. All at once he's trying to absorb this new information.

Because of all the things he remembered most about his Grandpa, it was burying him at the end of summer and placing his corpse in that grave. Back then he thought he would never see him again once he put the dirt over his body.

Back before he met Shin.]

OHHHH MY GOODDDD DDDD DDD

[wasthanked]

[Immediately, Seto turns his gaze up to look at Shin. How could he not realize it sooner? There's recognition and tears brimming in his eyes. For the sake of talking, and for keeping his thoughts together, he's trying desperately not to cry. Seto's always been emotional and now is no exception. ]

It was...it was you.

[Despite how much he's trying, he can't stop them from coming out of his eyes.]

Grandpa.

HHHHHHHWWWWOARGH

[antipathea]

[ The thought hadn't even crossed Shin's mind.

Now he's looking at Seto in shock, or something akin to it - as always, he second-guessed everything until he couldn't believe it anymore. Right now, he was thinking that this couldn't possibly be true. He didn't have the evidence in his memories stacked up like Seto did. All he had was a few weird coincidences and this odd, naive little boy telling him it was so. ]

What are you saying?

[ But his voice isn't cold or condescending - on the contrary, it's full of quiet concern, alarm. Wasn't it too much of a coincidence? Could that be possible? The irony would be hilarious - raising a child that would go back and nearly kill him - no, it was too coincidental, it couldn't be... ]