QuirkyAngel
White Masquerade's Blue Oni
Location: Shirotome High School, computer lab
Date: April 4th, 2030
Time: 3:20 p.m.
Date: April 4th, 2030
Time: 3:20 p.m.
Roka (Regalia) + Kami_X (God)
The boundary between the two shores.
That was the way Kami_X described it. Even if the boy, Hiroki Niwa, could bypass the barrier for a short period, the longer he remained the far shore, the weaker his connection to the other shore would become. The body needed the soul. Without it, the human body would grow weaker until it eventually died. That was the way it was supposed to be. Humans that defied the laws of death would only draw the ire of the Heavens.
Roka sighed. The idea that Heaven’s soldiers could possibly come after a high school kid was worrisome to say the least. Hopefully, Kami_X could figure out a solution. Roka had chosen to work for Kami_X, the god of hackers, not because of any deep love for computers or technology, but because the job ad appealed to him. He liked kids. Even if he was dead, he wanted to be useful. To help someone. To protect those in need of protection—like children. That was why he didn’t mind staying behind to guard a school.
Even as he checked the school forum for posts related to Kami_X,, and read up on basic cybersecurity, Roka kept his attention on the members of the computer club as they gathered, referencing the list Kami_X printed for him and committing their faces to memory. If they were in trouble, he was to help them. If he couldn’t do so, his task was to bring the problem to Kami_X’s attention. Along with transforming whenever Kami_X called his name, the job itself seemed to be to involve covering for his god whenever needed, whether it was keeping an eye on worshippers or answering requests on Kami_X’s behalf. The god had no idea how long he’d be investigating Lilium Resort, after all.
Nodding at the dark haired girl who addressed him after leaving Kami_X’s closet for a short break, Roka rolled his eyes when he heard Kami_X back had fallen back asleep. He appreciated Hakuka’s compliment, but he wondered how much of it was deserved. After all, he hadn’t started working for Kami_X since a couple of days ago. Therefore, he couldn’t have protected Shirotome High for as long as she implied. As for his god…
Pushing his seat back, Roka walked to the door marked ‘Kami_X’s Personal Space’ and slipped inside. Unlike before, Kami_X was curled inside his futon rather than within the laptop he always carried with him. Perhaps he should just let the god sleep. Since last night, Kami_X did seem a bit more exhausted than usual. Was it really only lack of sleep that put a god in that state? Roka picked up several empty cartons lying from last night’s take-out. From action figures to water bottles, Kami_X seemed to have a lot of objects in his closet for someone who seemed to lack skills in organization.
“Should I invite the god of cleaning back?”
“Please don’t,” the bundle of blankets mumbled. “I don’t want them touching my things.”
“So you’re awake,”
“I’d rather not be,”
And yet he was. Roka tossed the trash into the closest garbage bin. “Is it blight again?”
“Not exactly.” Kami_X stuck his hand out from under the futon and reached for his phone. “I guess I’m just not used to keeping 3 regalias at a time. Mad respect for the ones that can name an army.”
“Is it that exhausting?”
“Hakuka wanted me to tell you she’s only stepping out for a moment and that she’d be right back.”
“Ah.”
“You don’t sound surprise,”
“She’s got a lot to deal with right now, so it’s only natural she’d want some space. Make sure you learn as much as you can from her while she's here. She's way older than me you know. Heck of a lot more experience to boot.”
“Aren’t you going to help her find Susanoo?”
“Should I?” Kami_X didn’t look away from his phone, his thump tapping rapidly as if texting. Or responding to a text. “I feel like whatever that’s going on between her and her god isn’t something I should interfere with.”
“But you’re her god too,”
“I know.”
Roka didn’t press the issue. Instead he changed the topic. “One of the students, Rika Murakami, left post for you in the school forum: To Kami_X – if you’re real, I want to meet with you.”
“Pinky’s friend did?”
“Very straight-forward, right?” Roka folded his arms and leaned against the closet wall. “A boy called Ryotaro came in to take Hiroki Niwa’s body, but I think he wanted to talk with you as well. In addition to Hiroki’s situation, there’s your investigative job for Nana, the cybersecurity work you do for some rice companies, and the Shirotome computer club wants your blessings for the app challenge they’ll be competing in.”
Kami_X groaned, crawling out from under his futon and grabbed his toiletries. “Guess there's no helping it.”
“Are you normally this busy?”
“It depends. Strays don’t exactly have a consistent job influx so some days are better than others.”
“What will you do?”
“Whatever I can. I’ll leave you to schedule whatever meetings I have. So long as I’m free my 6pm, I don’t care.”
“For your date?”
Kami_X slipped on his glasses. “It’s just a meal.”
“With a girl?”
“…you’re welcome to join us. I actually wanted to introduce you to her since she’s the other person I wanted you two to protect whenever I'm not around. Like Niwa, she can see us so she'll probably draw phantom attention like a magnet.”
Roka nodded, remembering the albino college student Kami_X told them about in addition to Momo. “I’ll inform Senka so he knows what’s going on.”
“Already did,” Kami_X smirked. “Don’t want him to start attacking our new phantom buddy, Nox, as soon as he sees him, do I?”
“Are you sure this is okay?”
"You mean about Nox?"
"Yeah."
“Why? Do you have something against him?”
“Not really…” Roka hadn’t been dead long enough to have grudges like some spirits at SSA seemed to. “But isn’t he dangerous? Didn’t you yourself say that phantoms are ‘horrifying parasites that spread a deadly disease which will degrade my skin, rot my brain, and turn me into a monster’? Can you really trust someone like that? What if he eats you while you’re sleeping?”
Kami_X laughed. “You have good memory.”
“That’s not something you’d easily forget. ”
“I don’t trust him. We’ve only just met, after all.” Kami_X answered easily. “But the alternative in that situation was to make him an enemy and I don’t feel like burning my bridges needlessly. I’m used to living with danger. Besides, if the newly evolved phantoms could ‘harvest’ negativity without causing problems for the humans around them, I want to see it. Scaring away other phantoms is a nice bonus.”
“And if it does cause problems?”
Kami_X shrugged. “That's a breach of our deal and we handle it then. There’s always a risk involved in making deals. Doesn’t mean we should avoid them—especially if they are advantageous to us. So long as he’s not causing problems for me or those I care about, I don’t typically make it my job to hunt down the phantoms living in the city anyway. Though…I don’t intend to interfere if he makes an enemy of other gods either.”
“That’s a rather hands-off approach,”
“It’s how I’ve lived for this long,” Kami_X poured a box of cat food for the feline curled at the corner of the closet. She sniffed before approaching. “If living like this makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to stay. Just answering your calls and showing up for work during working hours is enough.”
“Wouldn’t that put you in danger whenever I’m not around?”
“I might not look it, but I’m still a god. I’ve already lived 40 years without a consistent regalia so I like to think I know what I’m doing.”
“I don’t know about that…,” Roka uncrossed his arms. “What if a phantom as strong as Sakda shows up again? Or the Monarch of Desecration manages to find you? Or Nox causes trouble while haunting the school? If you intend to live like this, we both need to get stronger. I’m not scared of danger and have no intention of giving up on you or this startup. That said, if the business is to prosper, the boss needs to get himself into shape. That’s why I think adding gunmanship practice and daily exercise routines to your schedule will—"
Kami_X teleported away before his regalia could finish. Roka’s sighed, scratching his head as he looked to his senior at Kami_X enterprises, Koko-chan. “Was I pushing too hard?”
The cat only meowed and continued eating.
(mentioned: Dante Verren Haze- Lucem The Secret Archives VeiledPariah Takumi98 )
Location: Shirotome High School, Rooftop
Date: April 4th, 2030
Time: 3:25 p.m.
Date: April 4th, 2030
Time: 3:25 p.m.
On Shirotome High’s rooftop, where Ame trained, her phone started to vibrate before picking up on its own. Kami_X’s voice sounded from her device. “It’s not good to overwork yourself, Hakuka-chan. It you have any problems, I’m more than happy to lend an ear.”
VeiledPariah
Location: ???
Date: April 4th, 2030
Time: 3:25 p.m.
Date: April 4th, 2030
Time: 3:25 p.m.
Text message to Eliyahs from Kami_X:
Would you prefer Daitan or Eliyahs? I know I promised a courtesy text, but things got a bit hectic so I’ll be brief. I met a phantom who seems to know the Herald of the Flock. He calls himself Sakda, the Weaver. What can you tell me about him and Daishin? Please and thank you~
The Secret Archives
Location: Shirotome High School, nurse's office
Date: April 4th, 2030
Time: 3:25 p.m.
Date: April 4th, 2030
Time: 3:25 p.m.
Rika Murakami (Human) + Momo (free spirit)
“Ryo? What are you doing in here?” Stepping into the nurses office, Rika immediately caught sight of her fellow far-shore-seeing classmate eating a candy of some sort atop a rolling chair. Behind her, Momo followed, though the pink haired spirit remained half-hidden behind the doorway. Rika rolled her eyes. Seemed her friend was still skittish around guys. “Did your fever worsen?”
She’d come to ask the school nurse for stomach medicine on his behalf anyway. Perhaps the old lady had some stuff for flu symptoms as well.
Her eyes drifted from Ryotaro to the pink haired shorty he hovered over. “And what happened to him?”
“That’s the boy I was telling you about,” Momo whispered from the doorway. “The one who fell asleep in the computer lab and spoke with Kami_X.”
Rika nodded, not taking her eyes way from Hiroki Niwa’s prone body. Ironic how one was sleeping when they shouldn’t be while the other did not sleep even though they should. “Do you know what about?”
Momo shook her head and hid herself further. Knowing how the spirit felt about boys, and her misgivings towards Ryotaro, Rika was surprised, but grateful her friend hadn’t left yet. Momo had always been a little strange since Rika first met her 2 years ago. The ghost of the girl’s bathroom rarely ever seemed to leave the girl’s bathroom, yet knew a lot about the school. Rika had long suspected that the spirit calling herself Momo might’ve attended Shirotome High in the past, but it couldn’t be confirmed because Momo did not remember. Nor did she seem to want to remember, avoiding the topic whenever it was brought up. Even though Rika shared much of her life with Momo, found comfort in the girl’s supportive ears, there were many things Momo didn’t share with her.
The same could be said of Ryotaro, though Rika didn’t share much with the detective either. What with his work, his studies, and tutoring Kenji, her classmate seemed busy enough without her unloading her problems on his plate.
“Whichever the case, if he can see the people of the far shore and talk to a god, that means he's like us, right?" She wondered why she hadn't noticed.
Lucem Takumi98
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