[ She could... definitely offer some personal details in that regard herself, but it isn't really about her right now, so she'll hold off on that for a while. ]
Did it feel good having someone who could relate to you that way?
[He stumbles to a stop for a moment, like he's trying to get words out and failing a lot, actually. It's overall unusual for someone normally as at-ease and chattery as he is.]
[He's quiet for a moment, thinking things over this time, before he stretches a little and tries to answer the question.]
I've known he was a jinrou since the first time we met, actually. He was stuck outside the mansion with the goats and pretending he wasn't. It was actually really funny. He does strange things like that sometimes, like going to sleep in a poison oak tree even though I told him it was a bad idea. He seems like a pretty level-headed guy, but I think he's actually kind of a hothead. And he'd rather set himself and everybody else on fire than do something he doesn't want to do.
[As usual, he doesn't mince words, though there's a softness to the way he runs through it that might be reminiscing or something else entirely.
This is probably the most he's said at once since the investigation started.]
Fighting him was fun, too, once he got around to drinking blood. He's still not that great at it, but training with him is almost like being back at the tournament properly. It's always the best when your opponent really wants to be there.
[...]
He was really bad at dying. It's been a couple of times now, because that's how jinrou work, I guess... but he's really bad at it.
[ She smiles as she listens to it all. Parts of it almost sound a little like Jiro, though she knows there were plenty of differences between them. Jiro probably would have liked Natsuno, though, and would have wanted to protect him, too. He was a superhuman, after all. ]
I wish I'd gotten to know him better. I'm glad you did.
[ It's good that they had each other for a while, she thinks, even if it hurts terribly now. ]
[There's a definite hesitation there, but this type of honesty is instinctive for him, the urge to live true to himself. That's probably what it is, even if he screws up his face a little after saying that, like it might have slipped out somehow or like he might have wanted to make an entirely different expression.
He keeps talking as though that will help his face. And maybe it does.]
I don't know if it was being a jinrou or not. I never exactly met him as a human. But maybe it's because he was both at some point? Maybe it's better if you mix it up.
[ Having two identities at the same time from the beginning is one thing; changing from one to another is always even more complicated when there's no guarantee that either side will accept you. They'd seen that enough times. ]
I think it's easy for humans to think that way about anyone who's different and doesn't submit to their wishes, though. It's usually their morality that defines for the world what's good or bad, and their "good" usually lines up with whatever is most beneficial for them.
Public opinion on superhumans shifted a lot over the years, and not always in the same direction... To be fair, sometimes we manipulated it for our purposes too.
[ She's sure Jiro never completely forgave her for that. ]
Before I came to the Foundation -- about half a year before that -- a propaganda film came out that depicted Jiro and the rest of us as evil monsters intent on destroying the country.
[ To add insult to injury, the actress playing her wasn't very attractive, but that's neither here nor there.
She shifts her position to lie on her stomach, crossing her arms in front of her and resting her cheek against them. This is probably too much, but if he doesn't jump in to cut her off, she's going to keep going. ]
Some time after that, a plan was devised that was supposed to save our world from its energy crisis. They were going to use superhumans as a fuel source by breaking us down over and over, harnessing the energy produced every time we disintegrated and regenerated. But not the ones who were like humans -- just the undesirable beasts and the monsters like me.
[ She closes her eyes and exhales softly. ]
I ended up at the Foundation just before I could put my plan into action, but I saw it there [ and on blu-ray ] -- how everything turned out. I killed the man behind that plan and took over his city for my own people, and Jiro and I declared war on all the humans and the superhumans who sided with them, even some of our old allies.
[ Eyes opening again, she gives a smile. ]
All that to say... if you think you're the only real villain left on this game board now, I can at least promise you you're not.
[He listens raptly, eyes a little round with growing questions, but surprisingly -- he doesn't interrupt. There's a little more animation to him now that he's properly engaged, but he seems content to listen, perhaps strange for someone like him.
There's a little bit of quiet after she finishes her tale, like he's digesting or turning things over, because there's a lot there for him to take up and ferret into. What does end up coming out first is--]
Eh, but that's not villainous at all, is it? You totally saved the superhuman race from the crazy propaganda and the people who wanted to use them to power... whatever. Did they really want power for their weapons or something?
[He looks kind of like he'd like to sit up and keep pelting questions, but he pauses.]
So when you said you knew humans pretty well before...
[There's a faintly admiring tone there, and something else with it that's not-quite-discernible.
He's never made a secret of his admiration for Nirrti and her ways, after all.]
Hmm. Most of the world is stupid, then, and sheep, if they can't see past whatever their fuel overlords want. [he says this totally emphatically even if all the context he has is from that little narrative, it's fine] But I'm glad we're kind of villains together.
Well, it was designed by Master Ultima for his Superhuman Expo as a prototype for his energy plan. It was an artificial island that could either float on top of the water or sit on the ocean floor. Since it was originally an event site, it was pretty showy and futuristic, and had big statues of some of the "good" superhumans, like Earth-chan and Master Ultima himself.
[ She left him impaled on a statue of himself. It was good. ]
I don't really know what it was like after we took it over, since I could only see as much as the videos at the Foundation included. We intended it to be a nation of our own for monsters and beasts to live in peace, though.
That sounds like a pretty cool place to visit someday... even if it was built by some weirdo named Master Ultima. That's not even a dignified name.
[He is on board to drag this dude even though he only knows his name and his master villain plan, it's fine.]
I mean, you know yourself, and you know Jiro, and you're a team, right? So I bet it would have turned out the way you thought it would. [he's still watching her, eyes a little brighter] I think... I wanted someplace like that too. Just a place that was mine, and where nobody else could interfere.
I've never been to America, but I've heard it's a real different country from Japan. Everyone there raises eagles and wears stripes, or something.
[He seems vaguely interested in stripe solidarity?? Where is he getting his information.
Emi gets a quick glance when she asks her question before he sinks into silence again for a little while -- there's something hesitant in it, though less than when he was stumbling through everything earlier. A little talking works wonders on roadblocks like that.
Finally:]
... I used to think that. That I had to destroy everything and everyone before I could find a real path for myself. I decided not to, because apparently there are infinite worlds, and that would be too much of a pain.
[It's not quite sincere, the rationale, but it's not quite not sincere, either. There's just more here, somewhere beneath the surface. A small sigh.]
But I still kind of want my own Fragment or something. Where I could only deal with the people that are worth dealing with.
[ ...She's. Not going to correct his America misconceptions at the moment.
"Destroying everything" is somehow still a little darker than she would have expected from someone who always seems to find so many things to take interest in, but after today, it's not entirely shocking either. She doesn't agree with it -- she might be willing to tear down all of humanity, but she wouldn't put herself above all of her own people -- but it's not incomprehensible. ]
That does seem like it would be a lot of effort. You might have ended up destroying a few good things you weren't aware of, too.
[ Given whose room they're in, the implication there is probably pretty clear. ]
Having a place to escape to when you wanted to would be nice, though...
Do you have any idea what kind of path you might want to find now?
... I didn't think they were real. The good things.
[That's very nearly a whisper, halfway to himself.
It's as faint as the words, but there's confusion there, and a little awe, and something a little lonely, too. He scrubs a hand across his face and turns to face the wall instead.]
That's as far as I got, though. Finding a Fragment and living there for a while... I don't want to go back to the Foundation, and I don't want to go home, so...
[...]
It's a lot harder to build things than it is to destroy them, huh?
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[This time, he doesn't seem to be being elusive on purpose.
It's also possible that he doesn't know quite how to articulate the thing, either.]
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Did it feel good having someone who could relate to you that way?
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[He stumbles to a stop for a moment, like he's trying to get words out and failing a lot, actually. It's overall unusual for someone normally as at-ease and chattery as he is.]
... It doesn't happen to me.
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What else did you like about him?
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I've known he was a jinrou since the first time we met, actually. He was stuck outside the mansion with the goats and pretending he wasn't. It was actually really funny. He does strange things like that sometimes, like going to sleep in a poison oak tree even though I told him it was a bad idea. He seems like a pretty level-headed guy, but I think he's actually kind of a hothead. And he'd rather set himself and everybody else on fire than do something he doesn't want to do.
[As usual, he doesn't mince words, though there's a softness to the way he runs through it that might be reminiscing or something else entirely.
This is probably the most he's said at once since the investigation started.]
Fighting him was fun, too, once he got around to drinking blood. He's still not that great at it, but training with him is almost like being back at the tournament properly. It's always the best when your opponent really wants to be there.
[...]
He was really bad at dying. It's been a couple of times now, because that's how jinrou work, I guess... but he's really bad at it.
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I wish I'd gotten to know him better. I'm glad you did.
[ It's good that they had each other for a while, she thinks, even if it hurts terribly now. ]
Was it being a jinrou that made him a villain?
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[There's a definite hesitation there, but this type of honesty is instinctive for him, the urge to live true to himself. That's probably what it is, even if he screws up his face a little after saying that, like it might have slipped out somehow or like he might have wanted to make an entirely different expression.
He keeps talking as though that will help his face. And maybe it does.]
I don't know if it was being a jinrou or not. I never exactly met him as a human. But maybe it's because he was both at some point? Maybe it's better if you mix it up.
[That's just an idle musing, probably.]
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[ Having two identities at the same time from the beginning is one thing; changing from one to another is always even more complicated when there's no guarantee that either side will accept you. They'd seen that enough times. ]
I think it's easy for humans to think that way about anyone who's different and doesn't submit to their wishes, though. It's usually their morality that defines for the world what's good or bad, and their "good" usually lines up with whatever is most beneficial for them.
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[It's very soft, but he's raised a hand and is staring at his wrist where the stripes down his arm are showing just a little, the sleeve riding down.]
Not just humans, even if a lot of people here probably know humans the best.
Everyone and everything is like that.
It's the way living things work.
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[ She watches him, quiet for a while.
Stripes, huh...? ]
Do you mind if I tell you a few things about my world?
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There's a small nod when she speaks again.]
Okay. What's it like?
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[ She's sure Jiro never completely forgave her for that. ]
Before I came to the Foundation -- about half a year before that -- a propaganda film came out that depicted Jiro and the rest of us as evil monsters intent on destroying the country.
[ To add insult to injury, the actress playing her wasn't very attractive, but that's neither here nor there.
She shifts her position to lie on her stomach, crossing her arms in front of her and resting her cheek against them. This is probably too much, but if he doesn't jump in to cut her off, she's going to keep going. ]
Some time after that, a plan was devised that was supposed to save our world from its energy crisis. They were going to use superhumans as a fuel source by breaking us down over and over, harnessing the energy produced every time we disintegrated and regenerated. But not the ones who were like humans -- just the undesirable beasts and the monsters like me.
[ She closes her eyes and exhales softly. ]
I ended up at the Foundation just before I could put my plan into action, but I saw it there [ and on blu-ray ] -- how everything turned out. I killed the man behind that plan and took over his city for my own people, and Jiro and I declared war on all the humans and the superhumans who sided with them, even some of our old allies.
[ Eyes opening again, she gives a smile. ]
All that to say... if you think you're the only real villain left on this game board now, I can at least promise you you're not.
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There's a little bit of quiet after she finishes her tale, like he's digesting or turning things over, because there's a lot there for him to take up and ferret into. What does end up coming out first is--]
Eh, but that's not villainous at all, is it? You totally saved the superhuman race from the crazy propaganda and the people who wanted to use them to power... whatever. Did they really want power for their weapons or something?
[He looks kind of like he'd like to sit up and keep pelting questions, but he pauses.]
So when you said you knew humans pretty well before...
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Mm, I know them and what they're capable of.
[ For that part, she can't fault Nirrti. ]
I do think I did the right thing, and I don't have any regrets about it, but most of the world didn't see it that way.
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[There's a faintly admiring tone there, and something else with it that's not-quite-discernible.
He's never made a secret of his admiration for Nirrti and her ways, after all.]
Hmm. Most of the world is stupid, then, and sheep, if they can't see past whatever their fuel overlords want. [he says this totally emphatically even if all the context he has is from that little narrative, it's fine] But I'm glad we're kind of villains together.
What was it like in the city you and Jiro made?
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Well, it was designed by Master Ultima for his Superhuman Expo as a prototype for his energy plan. It was an artificial island that could either float on top of the water or sit on the ocean floor. Since it was originally an event site, it was pretty showy and futuristic, and had big statues of some of the "good" superhumans, like Earth-chan and Master Ultima himself.
[ She left him impaled on a statue of himself. It was good. ]
I don't really know what it was like after we took it over, since I could only see as much as the videos at the Foundation included. We intended it to be a nation of our own for monsters and beasts to live in peace, though.
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[He is on board to drag this dude even though he only knows his name and his master villain plan, it's fine.]
I mean, you know yourself, and you know Jiro, and you're a team, right? So I bet it would have turned out the way you thought it would. [he's still watching her, eyes a little brighter] I think... I wanted someplace like that too. Just a place that was mine, and where nobody else could interfere.
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[ (Fuck America tbh.)
There was still a lot of fighting, but she hopes they did get to enjoy it together at least a little, in the short time they had there together. ]
It's nice that way, if you can be yourself without having to worry.
[ She's watching him in turn, still with a gentle expression in spite of everything. ]
Do you mean nobody else at all, though?
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[He seems vaguely interested in stripe solidarity?? Where is he getting his information.
Emi gets a quick glance when she asks her question before he sinks into silence again for a little while -- there's something hesitant in it, though less than when he was stumbling through everything earlier. A little talking works wonders on roadblocks like that.
Finally:]
... I used to think that. That I had to destroy everything and everyone before I could find a real path for myself. I decided not to, because apparently there are infinite worlds, and that would be too much of a pain.
[It's not quite sincere, the rationale, but it's not quite not sincere, either. There's just more here, somewhere beneath the surface. A small sigh.]
But I still kind of want my own Fragment or something. Where I could only deal with the people that are worth dealing with.
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"Destroying everything" is somehow still a little darker than she would have expected from someone who always seems to find so many things to take interest in, but after today, it's not entirely shocking either. She doesn't agree with it -- she might be willing to tear down all of humanity, but she wouldn't put herself above all of her own people -- but it's not incomprehensible. ]
That does seem like it would be a lot of effort. You might have ended up destroying a few good things you weren't aware of, too.
[ Given whose room they're in, the implication there is probably pretty clear. ]
Having a place to escape to when you wanted to would be nice, though...
Do you have any idea what kind of path you might want to find now?
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[That's very nearly a whisper, halfway to himself.
It's as faint as the words, but there's confusion there, and a little awe, and something a little lonely, too. He scrubs a hand across his face and turns to face the wall instead.]
That's as far as I got, though. Finding a Fragment and living there for a while... I don't want to go back to the Foundation, and I don't want to go home, so...
[...]
It's a lot harder to build things than it is to destroy them, huh?
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[ There's a tinge of sadness in those words, too, though. ]
I'd invite you to come see my world if you wanted, but...
[ It's already been established that it was not great. ]
Well. Maybe it will turn out better next time.
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