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[deaftly]

--shit's supposed to record my voice? Why the fuck would I want to leave a message on this thing anyway? They should know who the fuck they're calling if they're calling me in the first place, and obviously I'm not gonna pick up if I don't like them so...

What do you mean it's already recording?

Comments

[preybeforemeals]

I believe I may have killed someone while I was there.

[The words are blunt, but he doesn't seem bothered otherwise; why should he?]

I know I've killed humans by using about that much force on them before, it makes their heart stop; I have no reason to think that one was any different. But there wasn't any body; that simply vanished once I was through with him.

I don't want to test this theory just yet, monsieur, so I still think we shouldn't do anything stupid. But Tensai believes that's an innate quality of this world - that as soon as lethal force is dealt to someone, the person is sent back to a Pokémon Center, where presumably they'll just...wake up, as though nothing had happened.

Do you understand what I'm telling you?

[deaftly]

[Naki is silent for a moment and you can probably see the gears turning in his head as he tries to make sense of this.]

...So you're saying you think death isn't permanent here. That if you die, you'll just wake up in a PokÉmon Center somehow?

[preybeforemeals]

[Good boy.]

That's what I've been told, yes.

[deaftly]

That's crazy! How can death not be permanent here!? That doesn't make any sense!

[It's also kind of unfortunate, it means he can't just kill people he doesn't like. They'll wake up and remember it. Ugh.]

[preybeforemeals]

...Exactly how much of what we've seen here does make sense?

[deaftly]

...Well, yeah, I guess you've got a point there.

[preybeforemeals]

Look on the bright side, amore. At least you don't have to be quite so concerned, if this is actually true.

[deaftly]

I guess that's a good point.

[...]

Not that I was concerned about it to begin with or anything.

[preybeforemeals]

Of course not.

That's a bit too close to human sentimentality, isn't it?

[deaftly]

Exactly! I'm nothing like a human!!

[Even if he's technically a human here...]

[preybeforemeals]

See to it that you keep it that way.

[deaftly]

You don't need to tell me that!!

[preybeforemeals]

I'd certainly hope not.

[He's not sure why he's getting so irritated about this; it's not worth fighting over, they've verified that much several times. Just the same, there's something in it that makes him prickly, and he has to bite it back harder than he'd like.]

There's another concern as well, you know, that we haven't discussed.

[deaftly]

Yeah? What is it?

[preybeforemeals]

Do you know a man who goes by Greed?

[deaftly]

Oh yeah, I know him. We've spent some time together since he got to the city. What about him?

[preybeforemeals]

Does he know about you?

[deaftly]

About me...? No, of course not!! You think I'd just tell someone about that!?

[...Though he knows that Naki isn't human, given how he reacted...]

[preybeforemeals]

...Relax, monsieur. I'm asking because I think he suspects something about me - he's been asking me pointed questions since I arrived.

Though this also begs the question of whether you know about him. Has he told you...?

[deaftly]

Yeah, he did that to me too until I told him to knock it off.

[...It didn't go that smoothly and he knows it.]

Told me what?

[preybeforemeals]

That he's not human either. He's not like us, but he's definitely not human.

[deaftly]

...I'm not really surprised by that. I mean, with a name like Greed there's no way he'd be just a normal human!

[preybeforemeals]

It could be another case of "painfully obvious alias," but I'll grant the point anyway.

...He said something to me, about something he suspects is going to happen soon. Once every six months or so something goes strange with the region, for about three days.

Those that weren't human previously are returned to the way they were for those three days. Don't out yourself.

There's also the chance that people we know will arrive here, only to leave again at the end of those three days.

[He does hesitate then, as though trying to figure out whether what he wants to say is a good idea or not.]

I'm told that those people are often ones that are close to us, and according to what I've heard sometimes the dead are brought here, alive again. I thought you ought to...be aware that that might happen.

[You know, in the event of goddamn Yamori.]

[deaftly]

[Naki takes all that in silently, but it's not until Tsukiyama hesitates for a moment that it all falls into place. Tsukiyama's worried about Aogiri showing up, right? It makes sense, if anyone from Aogiri shows up and he lets them know about the situation here, they could try to provoke him into breaking the four gem lions truce with Tsukiyama.]

Well you don't need to worry about that. I'm not going to listen to what they say if they're only here for a short period of time. There's no point in it. I mean it's not like anyone that important will show up--

[That's about when the weight of what Tsukiyama sinks in and Naki stops speaking, eyes widening as he stares at the device.]

...You don't think...? But that's not... I mean, people can't die here maybe, but that doesn't change the fact that...?

[It's stupid to get his hopes up, he knows that much. There's no coming back from the dead, no matter what this place might do. It's not possible for Yamori to show up here. Right?]

[preybeforemeals]

...I don't know, amore. People have posted to the network claiming that they died wherever their home is.

[He shakes his head once that's out there.]

Listen to me, mons-

[He cuts himself off. Starts again.]

...Naki. There's no guarantee that it'll happen, do you understand? Greed-san said he's been here for some time now and he hasn't seen anyone he knows, he just knows that people have had it happen to them. So it's possible that he won't.

At the same time, you ought to know it's a possibility.