And the World Shall Forget You

[Zach Kaiser]

"Y-Yeah. Of course, I could hardly pull the bow back far enough to shoot more than five feet, so I guess I shouldn't criticize." Eld was enjoying the conversation and not thinking about it too much, or he probably would have marveled at how open Etsu was being. A week ago upon contact with him she would have immediately clammed up and given him a stoic glare.

"I'm not that great at fishing either..." he mused. Not that he was bad, but he wasn't any better than the average person. Meaning it was pretty much up to luck whether he caught anything or not.

For some reason, he felt the need to think of something outdoors related that he was good at. "Ah! I know what kinds of plants are edible and which ones aren't." It was a skill that would come in handy on the off chance Etsu failed to catch anything.

[Nayt]

"Oh?" Etsu asked.

Hmm. That could be very useful. As she didn't much feel like throwing a bra on, pretending it's a bikini (because she forgot to pack her swim wear; also a stupid mistake she berated herself about earlier), and going out into the water to do some serious fishing, that kind of skill could really come in handy. Especially if they found something like mushrooms. Mushrooms could be very edible, you just needed to find the right ones. Etsu had heard some horror stories, though. Some mushrooms were poisonous, with effects ranging from death to delirium, all things she personally wanted for avoid for the next sixty years or so if she could help it.

Etsu was about to ask if there were any local plants that Eld saw worth eating, but just as she opened her mouth, she heard a rustle behind them.

She glanced back down the path-- that winding road that lead back to the straight-way between Hillcrest and Galaens, and then again made sure that her shirt was covering enough. For some reason, she'd be more embarrassed about a stranger seeing something they weren't supposed to see (a flash of her underwear or something to that effect) than she would Eld. Eld she could hit. A stranger? Not so much.

But this was not a stranger. This was far from a stranger . . .

Toushikyo of Terra limped out from the brush, a regular look of annoyed pain across his face as he favored his right foot, uncut up as it was. He was already starting to wear heavy coats, thick pants, and heavy boots, but he likely had bandages all around his foot within that boot.

[Zach Kaiser]

The rustling of the bushes did not go unheard by Eld, who quickly turned around to see who was coming. That it was Toushikyo didn't surprise him entirely, but he quickly noted a distinct problem.

"K-Kyo! You came all the way out here on your foot like that?" he asked incredulously as he stood up to greet his friend. That he could clearly feel the effects of having stepped on the glass relieved Eld, since it meant he was normal today, but that didn't mean it was a good thing for him to strain himself! It may not have been a deep injury, but it wouldn't heal if he didn't stay off it for a little bit.

[Nayt]

This may have been a normal day for him, but Toushikyo still ultimately disregarded Eld's concerns. His foot would be fine. It'd happened before.

Toushikyo glanced from Eld to Etsu then back again. That wasn't a topic he was even going to broach. Whatever was going on between these two was best left between them. He wasn't even going to mention it to Akizets, nor mention it to Eld. Akizets was interested in the guy, and as protected as Toushikyo could be, there was only so much he could do. Eldridge wasn't a terrible person, anyways; he'd never intentionally hurt someone. Anyways, that had nothing to do with why he was here.

"I don't intend to intrude," he remarked, first and foremost. "I am just here to . . ." he paused, suddenly realizing he hadn't the words he wanted. "I just wanted to tell you . . ."

It was . . . awkward, to say the least. He came here with a specific purpose in mind, but really had no clue what to say or how to say it. In the end, he could only do one simple thing:

Toushikyo held his hand out to Eld, and if Eld were to take and shake his hand, Toushikyo would maintain a firm grip and eye contact. Something genuine, that's all he needed-- but something genuine and sincere was often too difficult to express in words, especially for him. It required something like this, something subtle, yet meaningful all the same. There was only one other thing he could do, one thing he could say:

"Thank you."

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld was a little confused at first by the formality, but he took his hand firmly when he offered it. "Don't worry about it. We're friends, right?" he replied with a warm smile. There was something he said that sort of bothered him, and it wasn't until he glanced back at Etsu that he realized what.

"O-Oh, you're not intruding on anything!" he hurriedly assured him. "Etsu's camping with me; she's been helping me investigate. She just hasn't gotten dressed yet, I guess." Something she might want to do soon; as the day progressed it was more likely people might come out this way, and at the very least she'd probably want to put on some pants.

"Would you like to join us? It would at least let you get off your foot for a bit." Plus, there was more he wanted to ask Toushikyo--and perhaps Etsu would think of some questions that he'd have missed even if he'd asked everything he wanted to last night!

[Nayt]

To Toushikyo, the formality was absolutely necessary. It was the only way he felt he could truly seem sincere and genuine-- and right now, that's what he needed to be. Eld had said a lot last night, and believe it or not, it all made him feel much better in the morning. Of course, that was before the pain in his foot kicked in, but still . . .

Still, he looked over to Etsu and back to Eld and nodded his head. Toushikyo could see no reason to just simply turn around and go home so soon. He'd walked out this far already, after all, and his foot was giving him an awful lot of difficulty. He was definitely not adverse to sitting down for awhile. Without much of a word at all, Toushikyo limped to Etsu's side, where he took a seat. She nodded to him in acknowledgment and he returned it in kind.

Though, Etsu couldn't help but be curious about something. "You did not bring Takamine-san?"

Toushikyo shook his head. "She knows nothing of this."

"Sou ka. May I ask why?"

Toushikyo shook his head again, though. "It's complicated. I'd rather not discuss it."

Etsu shut her eyes and nodded. Well, she guessed she could understand. At this point if someone drilled her to talk about her relationship with Eld, she'd actually be hard pressed to come up with a quick and easy definition. She'd have probably said the same thing as Toushikyo. Granted, the situation was completely different. Etsu was under the assumption that Maya was Toushikyo's girlfriend, and Etsu was without a doubt not Eld's girlfriend.

[Zach Kaiser]

As Eld took a seat next to Toushikyo, he realized there may have been a bit more to discuss than he'd thought. "That's probably something we should talk about...should we tell the others about all this? Etsu is the only one I've talked to about it so far." Well, he may have mentioned to Maya that her description of the Graveyard of Memories matched the one of the graveyard here, but he mentioned nothing of why he might have considered that important.

He could only see it beneficial to Toushikyo to have more people to support him, but...well, it was his issue primarily, and if he decided he'd rather keep it from them, Eld would have to abide by that. Though having the others in on it could be helpful in a more tangible way, too: Maya and Emily were both quite smart and could probably do a fair amount of investigating themselves.

Sarah, sadly, probably wouldn't be much help other than as moral support. Well, perhaps if they needed to chase someone or beat someone.

"It's to you, Kyo. I think they could help, but if you want to keep this quiet I'll understand," he stated, figuring he'd at least let his opinion on the matter be known.

[Nayt]

Toushikyo shook his head again. "Keep it between us, if you would. About me, Akizetsumei-- my entire family, in fact. The fewer that know, the better . . ."

No amount of rational argument was going to convince him otherwise, either. He didn't want his family to be looked at any stranger than they already were. People from Cizok and Algeroth were common here, but anyone from beyond those cultures-- the Terra clan or even an Umbra --were looked at with ire and distrust for the longest time. It took their family a great while to earn the trust of the community. If it were somehow leaked that Toushikyo were haunted by something, something that made it impossible for him to feel a thing on certain days . . . it'd just bring up unnecessary amount of attention.

"People are happier under the guise of normality," Toushikyo justified, "Even when our world is anything but."

For that reason, too, he'd have actually preferred it if Akizetsumei knew as little as possible. But there were other reasons for that, though. Namely, Akizets was a curious and free spirited girl. If she felt the need to go investigating this graveyard, she would and there'd be no stopping her. That was something Toushikyo did not want.

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld wasn't sure how well the secret would keep; he would try his best, but sooner or later someone was going to notice he was up to something other than studying in his free time and would start nosing around. And he wondered if Kyo could really keep it a secret from Maya if they started dating.

"Your family...?" he asked. "Is this something that happens to your family specifically?" If that was the case, it would explain why Eld's experience was different than Akizetsumei's. "Do you all...stop caring, some days?"

That was an even sadder thought. A family was supposed to be there for each other; they were the ones who were supposed to care even when no one else did. If randomly there were days where they simply couldn't, how painful must that be?

[Nayt]

Toushikyo lifted his brow, but soon shook his head.

"No, it's not that. It's that . . ." he paused to think and word this out in his head. "To my knowledge, we are the only ones that can be haunted."

A novel thought, to be sure. Eld had certainly experienced something when he lifted one of the items back there, but it wasn't anything too complex or terrible. Nothing like what Toushikyo experienced.

"I believe the effects are different for each of us. I lose the ability to feel, and Akizetsumei . . ." Toushikyo hung his shoulders and sighed.

And just now, he looked as defeated as he really was.

". . . loses the ability to remember. She either lays in place or wanders, forgets what's she's doing five minutes after starting it, and can barely recognize her own family. It's only happened once so far, but I fear its regularity will rise in years," just like his curse, to be precise.

[Zach Kaiser]

Losing the ability to remember...he wondered if that was really any better than not being able to feel. Perhaps ignorance is bliss at the time, but he wondered if Akizetsumei would feel just as bad when she went back to normal as Kyo seemed to.

Eld remained silent for a minute; the way his friend spoke now, it was as though he had no expectation of living any differently. But what he's said last night suggested otherwise. "Isn't there any cu--way to fix it?" he corrected, momentarily forgetting that this wasn't simply some medical condition.

"You said something last night...about choosing what you wake up to..." He looked at him intently. Whether Kyo had meant for it or not, Eld was now more determined than ever to find way to get him and his sister back to normal.

[Nayt]

"To be honest with you, I've not much of a clue," Toushikyo replied with a tonal hint of regret.

He wished he knew, though. It would've made things much easier. Then he could have simply arranged for a way to have Akizets woken up and freed of what he feared was going to be a curse just as bad, if not worse, than his own. That's all that really mattered to him.

"I only know what I feel when I reflect on it." To begin expressing what he was about to say, Toushikyo held out his hand slightly, "That something will wake me up from the dream. Something very specific. But I haven't a clue what, or even when. For all I know, I could have lost my chance by now."

". . . r-rike a maze with an uncr-rear end, no?" Etsu spoke up.

Toushikyo nodded his head, "And that I'm blind to whole chunks of the maze, yes."

"Sou desu ka . . ." Etsu went silent. She never had the chance to share her epiphany with Eld earlier, but it turned out she was probably as spot on as Eld was.

[Zach Kaiser]

"Well, then we'll help you see more of this maze," Eld proclaimed. It would have been arrogant to think he could solve it all singlehandedly, but he would do everything he could to help.

"As a start, we'll try to catch whoever's taking care of the graveyard--it's definitely getting regular upkeep, so someone else must know about it. And chances are if they're bothering to take care of it they'll know more than any of us currently do."

This line of thinking led Eld to another question. "How did you get afflicted, Kyo? Have you known about this place for awhile now?" He was beginning to think that he was taking how much he knew for granted. Whether or not he realized it or thought it would be any help, he potentially had a lot of information that could at least point them in the right direction.

[Nayt]

Etsu passed Eld a sideways glance. If they were in a public place, she'd have probably felt embarrassed by this awkward display of bravado. Fortunately, it was just the three of this.

Although Toushikyo didn't reply to Eld's show of confidence, he certainly hoped Eld was correct, and could at least help Akizetsumei along the way. He didn't need to help Toushikyo, though. In his eyes, it was probably a futile task. The something felt like it was further and further away with each passing day.

"A sword," Toushikyo replied.

Toushikyo had left it back in his room, otherwise he'd have shown it to Eld and Etsu. One of these days they were bound to see it, though.

"I felt . . . drawn to it. That I required it. So I took it from the graveyard," Toushikyo said, "I still feel drawn to it, even knowing what it's done to me."

Needless to say, he still had it . . .

[Zach Kaiser]

Well, that explained one of the empty lots of the graveyard, in any case. "Did you try putting it back?" Eld asked. He liked to think Kyo was smart enough to have already tried it, but if he felt drawn to it somehow, then perhaps he hadn't. He doubted it would be that simple, but it couldn't hurt. "I felt guilty when I took one of the items, but immediately felt better when I put it back."

While it was already established that apparently the Terra clan was somehow unique in their ability to be "haunted," that didn't mean that they were entirely different either.