unanswering | [pcs] horikawa

[hewwo hori... unfortunately for him, this run-in is going to be perfectly literal, because nie huaisang cannot mcfucking see. he didn't even mean to be in the library. he's just trying to find his way to somewhere familiar, and bumping right into horikawa in the process unless he dodges.

whether it's by bumping into him or by overcorrecting, though, nie huaisang ends up stumbling and falling onto the floor, quickly glancing up in what he thinks is this mystery person's general direction.]

Ah-! Forgive me, please, I didn't know you were there, I really didn't know!

[ oh...! and of course, being completely unable to feel a thing hori misses grabbing him entirely and watches in slow-mo as nhs just eats shit instead. oops. ]

Oh, no I'm so sorry I couldn't feel a thing.....!

[ they're going to end up apologizing to each other for this whole thread i feel it in my bones ]

[not sleeping absolutely sucks, so far! nie huaisang already hates it... but there's nothing else to do now that he can't sleep in, so he'll be stumbling across horikawa bright and early, wherever he happens to be.]

Oh- young master Kunihiro.

[he yawns, there, stifling it with a sleeve-covered hand.]

Were you awake all night too? This really is terrible...

[thanks to the weird bonding, though, hori can feel that despite how lazy he seems externally right now, he's on edge now that he's not alone. he's not on high alert, but it'll come across as just a constant background sort of wariness.]

Good Morning.

[ (un?)luckily for Horikawa, all nighters aren't that strange for him so he honestly hasn't quite reached critical exhaustion levels yet. there's a quiet baseline of sleepiness but he's certainly more awake and alert than most right now. ]

It seems like a lot of people had a difficult night....

I'm not used to so little sleep at all...

[well, he is, he's pulled all nighters himself, but it's better for his image this way.]

Is this really going to last the entire week, again-? I don't know what we're going to do.

It's hard to say... We're definitely in a difficult position if it does.

[ he might be okay......ish but the other humans of their group are certainly more vulnerable to their bodies demands. (there is, of course, an easy option if he's inferred the message clearly but he'll hold off on considering that until later in the week) ]

I suppose we can really only wait and see.

We already did so poorly last time... if this keeps up, we're not going to have any chance of doing better!

[despite how he looks like he's getting a little worked up, though, there's still just that wary edge, feelings-wise.]

What if we just die from lack of sleep-- I haven't cultivated enough to survive that!

Mm, I think I know how to help with that. ...... Though I suppose none of it will matter if we're all too exhausted to focus.

[ despite the concern in his voice, there's still a lingering feeling of 'it'll be easy enough to-' mixed into his thoughts causing quite the conflicting feeling of emotion. ]

Somehow I don't think whatever story this place is trying to recreate will let us all go so easily like that.

You don't mean-- I know someone mentioned the story talking about someone dying, but won't someone die regardless...? They really don't have to scare us like this!

[that feeling is-- strange, though, the conflict in it getting a little confusion from him. what the heck is going on with his emotions, that isn't quite right...]

It's unsettling, isn't it? To be told that we can murder one of our own or suffer.

[ he's willing to do the deed if it comes to it but even to him murdering an innocent sits ill in his stomach ]

Unless we somehow find the one who killed Nia-chan. Then, perhaps it would be alright...

[ for a sword who's relatively aware of his shady emotions, it's certainly getting a little messy up in his very human head. but it only gets him to head tilt a bit, tiredly wondering if he's missing something very obvious. WHO KNOWS, says the sword groggily feeling others exhaustion. COULD BE ANYTHING ]

But then we'd still have to kill someone else...

[he looks awfully distressed at the thought!

but he doesn't feel like he is. his emotions aren't actually running that high, they're just there, and equally mixed up thanks to their weird link.]

At least, in that case, there would be justified reasoning instead of someone who doesn't deserve it.

[ emotions are weird in general? they can be confused together at this point for all of his YAY MURDER thoughts, his emotions are certainly pointing in other directions. weird! ]

I meant-- I meant what happened to young master Asch. If someone did happen to kill the one who hurt poor Miss Nia, then they would have to...

[they'd also have to die for it, right? or someone would, if not that person.]

[ hm. he's tired enough to not even have thought about that. bad ]

Ah, I suppose that's true. This place certainly is unforgiving if it's justified or not...

It really is- it's awful! We really can't continue like this, young master Kunihiro, we just can't...

[this place is awful, he wants to go HOME.]

It'll be alright. [ will it, Kunihiro? ]

The one doing this won't get away with it for very long. I'm certain before long we'll find out what the cause of all of this is and we'll be able to actively work towards leaving this place. [ he smiles reassuringly, even though the feedback emotion is more calmly murderous than sweet ] So please hang in until then, Nie Huaisang-san.

[ i'm tired and this is the barest of prompts but hori is out and searching for his link partner especially after all that nonsense?? wow nhs, he didn't know you had that in you. anyways, between the worry and concern, it should be pretty easy to guess who's knocking on the door ]

[it sure is! but he answers it anyway, pulling it open for horikawa.]

Young master Kunihiro. I'm- sorry you had to be tied to me, during all this...

[ hey nhs. hori's smiling and he's got treats? wow guess who's been stress baking ]

No, no. I know it couldn't have been easy on you at all. I only hope I was able to help some during it.

Oh-! Was some of that from you...? It really did help a bit.

[he was still getting others' feelings, but you know. a little is better than nothing.

he'll let hori in, though, moving to sit on the bed.]

As many calm thoughts as I could think...!

[ mixed in with a touch of the ice of cold steel but that's just the upside(?) of being tied to a sword. otherwise, hori with his bag of cookies will come in, handing them off for him to enjoy ]

I wanted to check and make sure you were okay especially after all of that.

I think I'm as okay as I can be, considering, but the people I'm linked to... not all of them are.

[he accepts the bag with a grateful little nod, there.

and hori can tell there's still an undercurrent of fear here, for sure.]

[ he expected that tbh. and honestly, when this week is over and the effects end, he's certain nhs will still be feeling it. it almost makes him a little... protective. ]

It's been quite difficult being linked so many ways, hm? One persons emotions are exhausting enough but to feel others...... [ and in a high stress situation like trial ] I assume especially those upset about Hunter-san? [ which, fair. but at least he's in the safest place for him right now ]

Especially them, yes.

[he shakes his head, pulling a cookie out of the bag to nibble on... he's not very hungry, after everything, but it'll help.]

That, and I've felt someone else getting punched twice and it wasn't even my fault-!

[ at least the chocolate should help with any lingering depresso. ]

Eeeh, even that? [ thanks for not getting punched yourself. nhs ] These connections are quite troublesome after a while.......

[ he's tired of feeling Very Human Emotions going at max speed t b h ]

They really are! I don't know what we're going to do if they carry on like this...

[om, nom. he's just eating his feelings, thanks for providing the baked goods hori.]

I'm just counting myself lucky young master Kim and I didn't seem to feel anything during the night, considering we shared ties as well... I'd have passed out if I had to feel that thing hit me, too.

[it's later on tuesday! nie huaisang has spent all of monday investigating the new areas, and he finds himself in the salon today, checking out everything in here once more. the ends of his hair are dyed green, thanks to someone's interference and the fact that he can just re-dye his hair again later to match... that's fine.

he's busy peering at hairspray to figure out what the heck it is when he glances up and notices horikawa passing by, and he quickly calls out.]

Young master Kunihiro-! Do you have a moment-- would you come here, please?

[there, an invitation.]

Are you familiar with much of this?

[ he sure did stress bake enough for it ]

I'm glad you didn't have to as well. I'm sure it was unpleasant. [ it was probably close to getting hit full speed by an enemy yari and wow horikawa can relate. that's Painful no matter how immortal you are ]

But I'm sure these effects will be like the other ones and they'll fade away as the week ends. So hopefully just a little longer.

[ and then new shit will happen but we're just Not Gonna Think About It for the time being ]

[ hey hi, NHS-san. hori is exploring as well today after yesterday's shenanigans and perks up when he hears the familiar voice. the fact he gets called master never fails to make a strange expression cross his face but he certainly is smiling pleasantly when he's close enough ]

Nie Huaisang-san, what can I do for you? [ and glances around the room. ....hm. this sure is fancy equipment for a house ]

A salon? I wouldn't have expected something like this in here......

Oh, you do know it! I've only been here briefly...

[he was attacked with hair dye, he means.]

I didn't expect it either, but it's fascinating, isn't it?

Mm! We've only ever used much smaller setups than this.

[ if at all. swords all have perfect hair all the time, clearly ]

Some of this I've never seen before either....

[ time for the olds to explore the new and hopefully not go full yakity sax, right??? ]

[hopefully not!!]

We should see what we can find, then, surely it won't be that hard for you to figure out.

['for you', he says, because clearly hori has more experience! he's here for moral support and also to try things out, maybe--

but then he brushes against horikawa as he heads to look at something, and abruptly they're in a lavish-looking setting, dropped into one of nie huaisang's memories.

the interesting thing about it isn't what's happening, though. nobody is at all surprised that huaisang is begging for help, embarrassing himself by wailing drunkenly in public... but horikawa can tell from his emotions that this isn't all true. that huaisang is doing this all on purpose, that he intentionally interrupted lan xichen and jin guangyao's conversation before it could continue, that he's here to take up their attention and prevent guangyao from being able to ask anything he really wants to.

perhaps the most interesting of all, though, is the fact that nie huaisang's emotions make it clear just how much he hates the man he's clinging to. he wants to see him dead for what he's done, he wants to ensure his complete and total downfall--

to do that, he first has to do this: keep up this reputation, ensure he isn't seen as a threat. it's the only way he'll ever manage it.

and so he hides himself in plain sight, and neither of them seems to find anything off about him at all as they exit to a different area of the tower, where huaisang continues to cry on them both and keep them distracted.]

[ my, my what a memory. hori's almost a little surprised to find his suspicions confirmed, that there's more to nie huaisang than he showed. the strange disharmony of emotions the week before was certainly enough to rouse suspicion ]

That person....

[ will he tell hori more? ]

Ah- young master Kunihiro...

[he looks uncertain for a moment, but only very briefly. his expression shifts to something neutral very quickly, as hori might expect now that he's aware of what a good actor he actually is.]

That person is-- the current Chief Cultivator. He's done a number of things to both gain and keep that position.

And to you, specifically.

[ he recognizes that whirl of emotion, though through others more than himself personally. ]

Someone who has overlived their time and needs to removed. Though..... [he tilts his head because assassination blades and politics don't particularly mix outside doing a hidden stab, he understands more than kanesan does ] I suppose not as easily as you wish.

...no. It's been ten years.

[there's a shake of his head, there, a sigh.]

People weren't... ready to hear what he'd done. They needed proof, and it needed to come at the right time, or it would just get dismissed as a rumor... and he couldn't suspect anything, or I'd have been dead.

[therefore, the whole act. so many people have started seeing who nie huaisang really is, thanks to these memories; it feels pointless to keep trying to be nothing but the head-shaker.

he's not sure he can afford to be, with how things in this house have been. he doesn't have time to try to nudge people toward coming to the same suspicions he does, as opposed to just voicing them.

...he's considering it.]

[ ten years. ]

How difficult it must have been. I couldn't imagine what it would have taken. [ but no, one could say Yasusada did similar, hiding within the Shinsengumi ] It certainly takes strength of a certain caliber to keep up the act for so long.

[ spite definitely being something that counts here ]

I've just-- remained focused. It's enough to keep going.

[spite and revenge are GREAT motivators, as it turns out!]

It's very admirable.

[ congrats you've gained one (1) shady friend
~~HORIKAWA will now die for you~~ ]

May I ask.... how it ended?

[ has it ended?? ]

It's... ending now, I think. When I came from. The last time I saw that man, he...

[there's another brief flash of memory, not pulling him into a full one this time: jin guangyao has a sword through his chest, as a shocked-looking man dressed in white looks back at nie huaisang. the man in white is the one holding the sword, though-- not huaisang.

he takes in a sharp breath, exhales it slowly.]

--he isn't dead yet. I can't say with any certainty that it's over, or that he won't bring me with him.

[ he jerks back only because he wasn't expecting to see but settles back quickly again. these memory flashes surely are quite distruptive ]

How cruel of this place to leave you in anticipation.

[ it's as if the knife dangles at the edge, the feeling of how will things go...? just out of reach ]

Though, I hope that things go well and your spirit is at ease when all of this concludes. I can't imagine the relief when it's all over.

[ he can though with the goal finally accomplished, the blade finally reaching the target. there's always the quiet grim pleasure of a job well done but sometimes also the yawning emptiness that replaces it. he only hopes that nhs doesn't suffer the same ]

It really is-! And I have no idea what happens if I somehow don't make it home-- will it just not have happened in the first place?

[honestly, if that sticks whether he returns or not... that might be enough. he started this journey knowing what he was getting into, that the most careful plans could still go awry. that he might need two graves after all.]

But... I'll still have my responsibilities, assuming it all ends well. The QingheNie Sect won't run itself.

[he tilts his head a bit, though-]

You don't seem very bothered, by all this.

Edited 2020-03-17 04:59 (UTC)

It's possible it will still happen as it is? History has a way of correcting itself despite all players readily available.

[ what a strange place for his weird time traveling knowledge to come in handy! ]

..... Ah, the [ gestures vaguely ] idea of a planned assassination? or your hand in the matter?

Oh, the assassination part isn't surprising-- it's one of your skills.

[he's read the profiles after all.]

And I understand your occupation was... as a weapon. But most would be more surprised to learn that about someone.

Ahaha... I suppose it's just in my nature to be accepting.

[ or he just don't really care how shady a human you are as long as you're not actively gunning for ~~kanesans~~ his life. Not His Problem when it comes down to it. ]

I can hardly judge motivations like so while as a weapon meant for quiet deaths. It just wouldn't be right.

That does make sense...

[he hums, considering. horikawa really isn't that bad, is he, assuming he's not just faking it in front of huaisang. that has not been ruled out.]

The information about you mentioned something about a partner, though, didn't it-? It must be strange for you, being here alone.

Mm. It is. I keep looking for him but he's not here.

[ he drops his head, sad at the idea all over again. kanesaaaaan.................... :( ]

Given the situation, maybe that's for the best... but that doesn't make it any easier, does it?

[he's not here to be at risk of death, but he's also not here at all.]

I hope you've at least found some company here.

Mm. I wish for his presence but I'm glad he's not trapped here with us.

[ if only they had working facetime :pensive: ]

But I do believe I've found people to talk to. [ the 'you included' is pretty clear in his tone ]

[pcs] horikawa

w0, friday

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w2, tuesday

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week 2, post-trial

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w3, memshare timeee

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