Seventh

[akapeanut]

[George appears on screen, face as neutral as ever. She's sitting in a gross, olive green booth, a plate of food in front of her. She doesn't seem to notice it. In fact, if anybody cares to look closely, it's pretty clear it's been sitting there a while. It's probably not even hers.]

I don't suppose anybody wants a tour of ghost city Seattle, huh?

Comments

[video]

[jivitadana.livejournal.com]

[Oh, hey, Minato's never been to America or anywhere outside of Japan.]

... Are you in the waffle house?

[That place is practically famous by now.]

[video forever]

[akapeanut.livejournal.com]

I guess.

[She looks around.]

Except it's empty as fuck.

[jivitadana.livejournal.com]

[Minato nodded.]

But it's winter there?

[akapeanut.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Must be the same time here as it is at the mansion.

[jivitadana.livejournal.com]

Did you want company?

[Because it looks really lonely and abandoned there and at every other world.]

[akapeanut.livejournal.com]

[She shrugs and looks away.]

I'll bring you in if you want.

[Yes.]

[jivitadana.livejournal.com]

Only if you want.

[But he smiled a little. It shouldn't be his decision alone, although he is on the move to get to where they should meet.]

--> action

[akapeanut.livejournal.com]

[She's too proud to respond. Instead, she just moves to be in position in case he arrives.]

action

[jivitadana.livejournal.com]

[Sure enough after a few minutes, Minato arrived.]

Thanks.

[akapeanut.livejournal.com]

[She shrugs and extends her hand. She's not sure why she thinks that it's necessary-- nobody's told her, exactly. But somehow it just makes sense.]

[jivitadana.livejournal.com]

[Minato carefully took her hand, and stepped into her world. He still wasn't sure how this was possible either, but it had happened.]

So this is what it looks like.

[akapeanut.livejournal.com]

Yeah.

[She looks around.]

It's empty, though. I never saw it like this.

[jivitadana.livejournal.com]

I think every world right now is like this.

[Well, "right now" being "for this event" since it clearly wasn't empty before in his own world and her world either.]

[akapeanut.livejournal.com]

It's creepy. This place was always so busy.

[jivitadana.livejournal.com]

Did you come here a lot?

[akapeanut.livejournal.com]

Almost ever day. My coworkers and I met here for...

[She glances at him.]

Did I...uh. Did I tell you?

[He's similar to Souji...No reason to keep it from him, really.]

[jivitadana.livejournal.com]

[Minato gently shook his head. It was just to answer her question, but not necessarily to coax or goad her into telling him since he would never do that.]

[akapeanut.livejournal.com]

Back home, I died. Now I'm "undead" and, uh, a reaper. I take people's souls before they die so they don't feel the pain of their death.

[She pauses, then waves a hand vaguely.]

So you can guess why I don't tell everyone that. Kind of a bad omen to some people. Not that I've reaped anybody here, but still.

[jivitadana.livejournal.com]

[Minato nodded once, listening carefully to what he was being told.]

Mn. But it's honorable. So that individual doesn't have to suffer.

It doesn't hurt you, does it?

[akapeanut.livejournal.com]

...No.

Does shooting yourself in the head hurt?

[Hey, legit question if he's bringing it up.]

[jivitadana.livejournal.com]

[Minato shook his head. Fair enough, the question hadn't bothered him.]

Can I ask how you got assigned this role?

[Ah, had he known you reaped souls, he would've wanted to try it out when he was testing death here.]

[akapeanut.livejournal.com]

[She shrugs.]

Whoever "they" were, "they" never told us. Could've just been luck of the draw.

[jivitadana.livejournal.com]

Do you like it?

[Not that she had a choice now that she already was a reaper.]

[akapeanut.livejournal.com]

[She thinks quietly for a moment. She's never really thought about it in terms of liking it or not.]

I guess it's nice to be, you know. Not totally gone. I got to see my family and...and I've made some friends here.

[Ew, that's really sentimental. Moving on.]

But it kind of sucks to see people dying sometimes, though.

My first reap was a kid.

[jivitadana.livejournal.com]

They can see you?

[Minato should've thought of that. But the second part seemed more important.]

Mn. But death happens all the time. It's normal.

[Just how and when, that's what made it more frightening for some people.]