348/So Much Locked Away

So Much Locked Away
Date of Scene:	02 September 2023
Location:	Dorms #1
Synopsis:	Darien and Masato have a secret conversation about Naru, mutiny, destiny, and construction work.
Cast of Characters:	Mamoru Chiba, Nephrite
Tinyplot:	Lost & Found

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Mamoru Chiba has posed:
'Darien' is doing his best not to chortle in his joy as the door of the empty dorm room swings open in the hall. It's between the rooms of four students who went home for the summer, he had explained, and his roommate won't walk in.

Once he closes the door behind them, he leaves the window alone -- they do need the light -- and sits on one of the beds. "Okay, so, one apology and a bundle of information," he says seriously. "The apology is, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were going to pose as my tutor, so when Naru asked me if I had a tutor I said no." A beat. "I'm not the best at recovery. So now you're a friend of mine from work. Which, to be fair, she would have known I know you from work because Beryl Holdings is a subsidiary of Obsidian and she has google."

Darien looks pretty chagrined though. "I'm sorry. I'm friends with a lot of people in school. I'm used to Naru asking me wild questions out of nowhere and that one was the first that was a problem."

Nephrite has posed:
    "What a tangled web we weave..." Masato says with a shrug as he leans on the back of a chair. If there are no chairs, there's one there now. Psychoplasm is 'terribly useful', as Zoisite describes it. "She has a lot of potential. I was just doing my part to find a way to awaken and amplify it at its peak. That has been my way of doing things for a while now. I may have to wait for the exact right moment, just as I must wait for the stars, but the pay-out is all the greater for it." He sighs and murmurs. "Still... I had the vague hope I had found someone I might pass on the secrets of Astrological Magic to... But she has no interest in astronomy. She probably told you that, right? That I asked about it?"

    If Masato is at all perplexed by the choice in locale for this discussion, he doesn't remark upon it. There are weirder things every day. At this point he just takes it in stride.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"She did. She said it was a nice conversation and that you were maybe going to text her about scholarships-- but I also think you should talk to her about magic. Because she knows it exists, she's had monsters attack her before and remembers it when they do," Darien tells Masato, leaning forward, hands on the edge of the bed to either side of him. His hair falls into his face and he sits up again to lift a hand and push it away.

"Which is probably a good thing for you to know ahead of time, actually, so I'm glad we're talking about her. But!" And that is absolutely a finger in the air moment. "I--," he falters.

He looks at the window. And he looks back at Masato. And he says, quietly, "I got a whole bunch of memories back, Neph. When I group-texted everyone, it was right after I fought with Pyrite, but having a fight with her also involved a lot of psychic... mess. And a lot of memory unlocked. In case I forget again, please remember that my name is Mamoru Chiba, and my birthday is August 3rd, and I'm sixteen, and I don't have any blood family. On the whole how safe is it for me to tell you any more?"

Nephrite has posed:
    Masato listens carefully, his stormy blue eyes focused on his best friend. Zoisite might do something like bring them all together in a weird place for a meeting just because he's a freewheeling agent of chaos and annoyance, but it's much less likely for Hematite. So, Masato listens. When he is addressed as 'Neph' he smoothly transitions from 'here's a discussion about a recent awkward situation and what to do in the future' to 'ah, shit, here we go again'.

    "So she did try to kill you then?" he asks, which isn't really the point of what was being said, but something he needs clarification on nonetheless. "I've memorized it. If you have a way of getting memories back, it would be best if you used it on me too, as soon as possible. I can't promise anything if someone or something decides to root around to see what I've been up to. It's... Not just in my head. It's in my soul. It has claws in me. Or maybe hooks? Sharp unpleasant things that will damage me if an attempt is made to remove them, but... Some degree of self-mutilation may be inevitable in exchange for freedom."

    Sighing, Nephrite moves around the chair and sits on it. "If you want to start breaking us free, I'm the one to start with. I've been trying already. But Metallia owns me, at least in part. It's contract magic, and there will be dire consequences for breaking said contract."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"No she didn't try to kill me, I picked a fight with her, and then found out I asked her to hold some memories for me, and she was also holding-- a lot of my pain. Which I had forgotten. I asked for it back. We're kind of psychically connected," Mamoru says sheepishly, reaching up to scratch the back of his head, shifting his weight on the bed with plastic dorm mattress sounds.

Then he listens -- and -- his face changes as he listens, with both hope and frustration in equal measure. Mamoru's breath is as good as held, his heart's beating too fast, and then Nephrite finishes and the black-haired teenager's smiling like he's going to cry, and he's up on his feet, launching himself at Neph with open arms.

There's literally nothing to call it but a big damn hug. "I only had a way to get mine back -- but I remember! I remember it was something I might have been able to learn to do, before the dark energy! I used to be able to heal people, and feel what they felt, and sometimes I even still dream true dreams-- I used to be able to heal, Neph."

His voice is muffled at the end, but then he turns his head. He's not crying, but he's wildly emotional, his voice is wavery. "I could leave now, if I didn't think she'd make you all hunt me down and make you like it. I didn't make a contract. I remembered so many things, Neph. I could leave now if it wouldn't mean leaving you all behind for her to use up."

Nephrite has posed:
    Nephrite discorporates the chair he was sitting on as he moves to quickly stand-up, preventing it from getting in the way of his legs, and catches Mamoru. They're both pretty strong, but they also weigh much less than the maximum they can lift, so he remains standing. "I don't remember all of it. But more and more has been coming out over time for me as well. Possibly the others. I know that... Backlash from what you and Pyrite went through knocked things loose. And I don't think they were supposed to come loose. If there's a time to tear her out of us, it's now, or the very near future."

    After setting Mamoru down, Nephrite sighs. "She can do things to souls, right? I wouldn't have suggested this a month ago, or even a couple of weeks ago... But if you can have your apprentice try to cut out the parts of my soul that have been invaded... I'll deal with the consequences after that. Otherwise, even if we were deceived and manipulated into it... We made a deal. A promise. That goes deeper than the magic of the contract itself." Shaking his head, Nephrite says, "I should probably stop talking about it. I'm not even supposed to remember thhis much."

    Moving Mamoru back a step or two, but not letting go with his hands on his leader's shoulders, Nephrite says, "If you two can't free us, then at least make sure we don't go back to her. Do you understand? Whatever it takes, don't let her have us again. Not ever."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I'll-- I'll ask her. I mean, ask if she can still do that," says Mamoru, looking up that very little bit. His chin is kind of crumpled but he's taking normal breaths now. He lifts one hand and crosses his chest to place it over Nephrite's on his shoulder, and blue eyes meet blue, clear and real and present and unclouded by darkness or glowing red, just for now. Just for the moment.

"I understand. I don't want to, but I understand. I'll try with everything I've got, and hope I don't fail you. I'm the one who got you into this-- you'd think you'd have made a contract with me instead, right? But I was just bait." He's at least not tearing himself up with guilt at the moment. "You were looking for me. We already had a connection."

Nephrite has posed:
    There's still so much locked away. Nephrite knows how he feels about Hematite -- or Darien, or Mamoru -- but there's still so much more that he can't risk trying to touch yet. He doesn't even know why he has been allowed to recall this much without that demon taking everything away again. It makes him nervous. He's waiting for the other shoe to drop. But for now, he just calms himself and says, "I can't imagine how you felt, being the only one to know what was happening. How you must still feel about not wanting to leave us behind. But I truly believe that you, Mamoru Chiba, met Himeko Soryuu for a reason. You said you're connected to her. You're also connected to us. Maybe that mutual connection will allow all of us to fight our way free. And..."

    The Dark General hesitates. He wavers, because he might be suggesting something foolish and dangerous. He doesn't know if it's his idea or was put there by something else.

    "...You said you had no blood relatives, correct? You might want to change that. I can't say anything else about it right now. Just please think about it. A connection like you share with all of us, and the new connection established with Himeko. We may not be your brothers by blood, but we are family. Pull her out of the dark. I think you could lead the way back to the light."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I think," Mamoru says slowly, "she's already coming free. I need to protect her while she reorients herself. I don't... I think I know what you mean, but I'm also not certain that's necessary. Our connection is stronger than blood."

He takes a shaky breath, then lets it out, and it's less ragged. His hand over Neph's on his shoulder is warm, but there's no gold, no gold. The empathy that should be there is not. There's still strength, though, and there's still his presence, and he gains courage from Nephrite's presence and strength, too.

"But I'll think about it some more. And that mutual connection -- and connections, still extant, that are not part of this travesty -- will definitely help us all."

A beat, and Mamoru briefly looks somewhat frayed at the edges. "As long as I can keep everyone from being at each other's throats."

Nephrite has posed:
    Nephrite does not argue. Mamoru knows his and his ghost's bond better than an outsider. It's still cause for concern. Just as all of the other Shitennou have something in their minds and hearts that makes them unsure if any given thought or feeling is truly their own, here is Hematite with a different sort of soul contract, and Nephrite has no insight into what side-effects there might be.

    So instead, he just walks over to the bed, and seats himself on the edge, whether Mamoru does the same or not. Masato sighs tiredly. "The Stars may know all, but they do not tell all. I have to do a lot of deductive work sometimes, when a vision is unclear, or I have trouble connecting the dots. It is something I am accomplished at, but it is not a skill I can always rely upon. And if I connect the wrong dots, the entire pattern may fall apart. When destinies fall apart, it can cost so many lives that I can't even tell you how many. As numerous as the Stars, perhaps."

    He loves to wax poetic, but he's being very serious about this. He couldn't say everything to Mamoru about his suggestion of creating a blood relation, or how it might affect the future. Everything around Pyrite is just emptiness that makes his attempts to scry upon her fruitless. Even if she is changing, there is something else that is just as hungry as ever. I wonder if Himeko has her own demon attached to her soul.

    Hands folded in his lap, Masato moves to the next topic. "The reconstruction of my house isn't expected to be done until November. Still rather quick, by mortal standards, but I was planning to host a Halloween party and I don't want the legal liability of some snot-nosed brat falls through the floor."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I wish I could Show you."

The words are simple, but the sentence is anything but. The emphasis on 'show' is strange; it means so much more than just holding up a picture or a plan, or gesturing over a marble balcony. There are echoes in it of power and secrets and games, of holding hands under the stars with closed eyes and a young face turned toward the heavens.

There's a memory's ghost of a touch as Nephrite pulls away, breaks contact, sits down -- as Mamoru's hand falls to his side. "I wish I could still Show anything, but it's all behind a wall, too safe to use. But if I could, I'd Show you how Himeko and I are connected, the threads which bind us, which have snapped and which are changing, which are stronger and which are irrelevant. It would help you. But like there are things you can't think about, there are things I can't break out of, and they predate her considerably. You trust me-- please, continue to do so."

And then he slowly moves back to sit on the edge of the opposite bed, where he'd been sitting before, and his shoulders hunch in a little and he sits on his hands for a little while. There's a twitch of one corner of his mouth. "Can I help rebuild it? Is that something I can lend you power or aid to do? Or are you planning on renting a place out?" A pause, and Mamoru frowns. "Are you staying there in the interim, or are you like... staying with Zoi? Or in a dorm?"

Nephrite has posed:
    "Maybe one day," is all Masato has to say regarding Showing him. He assumes a telepathic projection is being referred to, but it might be something else. If it's truly important to Mamoru, it will happen. His star is still bright.

    "I'm alternating between my office at Obsidian Tower and a secure location. If you have the power to speed up construction work, then by all means. I need to start replacing all of that lost alcohol." He may or may not be joking. He always seems so serious, after all.

    There's a delay for Mamoru to respond, while Masato thinks about how to phrase things correctly.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Connections and communication were always important to him -- the stifling power of the dark energy drives him crazy in more ways than one. But why should he worry about it when Jadeite can do all of that with dark energy?

"One day," Mamoru agrees, breathing it out in a sigh.

Then, the practicalities. "Well, you know I'm not very good at psychoplasm," he laughs, pulling his hands out and resting them on the edge of the bed, to either side of him. "Dark energy constructs I'm better at, but they still don't last very long. I can stand around and look intimidating if you are using youma contractors, but honestly, it shouldn't take until November if you've got a full crew working on it. It's not a money issue, surely?"

Nephrite has posed:
    "It's a mansion in the woods without road access, and I don't know which of my wards may still be active, and also I don't want someone to walk into the basement and get eaten by Himeko or whatever. You saw the state it was in. Are you certain it should be fixed that quickly?" Nephrite is many things, but an engineer or construction worker or whatever he is not. Magic is something he's saving up in case it becomes necessary in the near future, so he isn't about to use it to do the work himself either. Masato is even fewer of those things than Nephrite is.

    "Well..." he muses. "If you are able, I gratefully accept your assistance. Between my job at Obsidian and the distributed wealth I've put in various banks throughout the world, I will be financially sound for quite some time." He leaves off the 'Unless we torch human civilization as it currently exists.' part. That's implied.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"She's not really a murderghost anymore," Mamoru says, chewing on his lower lip and looking thoughtful, "but that's fair."

He gets up from the bed, then, and walks over to look out the window at the grassy grounds beyond the dormitory building. "I'll definitely help, then. It should be ready for re-warding by mid-October at the latest."

He glances back at Masato and smiles lopsidedly. "When this is over, I might need to mooch off you. Depends on how guilty I feel about having been paid for what I do for Beryl Holdings."

Then Mamoru comes back over and briefly clasps Masato's shoulder, himself. "Thanks for not being mad about Naru. For what it's worth, she seemed pretty interested. You should text her, no matter what your ultimate intentions."

He lets his hand fall again. "Also thanks for humoring my choice in meetingspace. I don't feel secure talking about a lot of this behind any wards but yours in your house, or the school's." A pause. "I should get changed before study group."