Chokushi no Magan

...you must have a lot of free time on your hands, since you're here instead of doing anything worthwhile. But at any rate, yo, I'm Shiki. Nice to meet you. [Affiliated with Citta Alveare] [Rank Noble] Background Image by shiki: http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?id=7416737

[kanesadakuji]

requippedheart:

[ ☩ ] - Well, of course she was insightful. This was a subject she knew a lot about. As she took Shiki over to where more exotic looking leather pieces were would she thumb through them as she rubbed her chin, listening to her speak on behalf of what had happened to her. “ No, I understand. It’s essentially making up for a temporary loss of strength. No shame in that. If you do decide not to use it anymore that’s your choice. “

[ ☩ ] - Eventually she’d pull out a few rather simple pieces. While the framework was considerably lighter than average, there was a tighter weave and structure. It was a high quality piece that looked thinner but had a lot more durability to it from the way it hardly warped. Sturdy and effective would she hold it up to the girl.

“ I see. What exactly are you getting paid for if you do not mind me asking? If this is for hunting kind of work than I can find camouflaged ones that will help you blend in. Otherwise, this should do just nicely. “

“ Now lets get you fitted. “

“I’m part of an Organization, the Order of the Black Knights, which tries to help normal citizens and limit the ever expanding chaotic occurrences that happen to be this city’s specialty.” At this point, Shiki pointed to the order’s sign on her jacket before continuing.  “My erm boss, no, my friend commented once how my skills overall are suited for assassin work true. However, at this point of time, we do things openly without the need to resort at a strategy that would need stealth. However, if a mission that requires stealth comes up, it wouldn’t hurt to have such a thing.”

After answering the question, Shiki took the armor that the woman presented to her to examine it closely. For a second she regarded the irony of the store’s clerk being barely awake at his counter, while a customer just like her was the one advising her on what to buy. ‘Well as long as I get what I came for.’ She thought nonchalantly before focusing entirely on the item in her hand. 

It was a light piece of leather armor, probably weighting around 5kg, so wearing it would feel like carrying a bag or something. No big deal in that regard. The next thing in her mind though wasn’t something she was sure the store would allow.

“While I DO like it..do you think they’d allow me to press a knife to it? Or is there another way to test its durability somehow? Wouldn’t want to overestimate or underestimate it during battle.”

[kanesadakuji]

archersam: 

@kanesadakuji

  There was always work for the willing. Just had to find it. From day jobs in the office to working the bar at night, anyone would be able to make a living for themselves in the city, and then some. That went for anyone who could put in their hours in. Where there was a will, there was a way, and for me, that direction went to the creation of swords.   Putting it that way would be lying, but it was the simplest phrase to get the point across. Ever since the restaurant gig ran its course, I had been emptying out my savings day by day. Turns out it’s a lot more stressing to be a NEET than most would imagine. Food wasn’t in short supply, but it irked me, having to rely on those that toyed so much with their test subjects. I was no exception.   Whenever the opportunity was afforded to me, there was a sense of contentedness to be found in polishing shirasaya that had been created with my own hands. The wooden sheen, plain as could be, starkly contrasted with the city. I felt bad about having to take it out right here, but the stairs of the metro made for a decent seat while polishing the pure white cover that enveloped the steel blade within.   It was to be expected that someone would give me the stink eye while I did this. That it was late at night gave me an inkling of hope not to disturb anyone leaving the trains at this hour, as passengers were sparse – but I suppose there was a reason to be bothered by anything. I tossed a quick look at her in return, sizing her up in an instant. The demeanor that she gave off, I threw right back at her.   Confusion and disorientation took me over for a moment, and I stared in shock at her. But it wasn’t so serious. The city had molded me into recognizing that anyone could be a threat, and I knew from experience that it was best just to lay off or play into their games if I wanted to avoid a fight. I spoke for the sake of setting up a mental boundary to keep the anxiety locked out at the door.

“If you have any questions to ask,” I said, talking as calmly as could be. “I don’t have any problems answering them. You seemed interested in this. It’s something I don’t mind talking about.” 

  It was late at night when Shiki decided to take the trains in order to go back to Sector 1 and then home. The day had not been particularly tiring. Just a fair share of the usual routine. Since it was night, the train schedule wasn’t as convenient, which meant she had to wait longer than usual. While the irked her somewhat, it also couldn’t be helped, so she decided to try and find a seat to rest a bit.

Or that was then plan anyway. Until she noticed him. 

It was a boy, maybe a few years younger than her. From being into the Hive City for nearly a year, Shiki was able to recognize normal citizens and people who had come from another world, like her. Their presence was different. And that held true for the person in front of her. He didn’t seem a bad guy however, and normally Shiki would have ignored him altogether if it wasn’t for it.

It being a japanese katana. Noticing too late that she had been staring at it for more than a minute, the voice of the young man brought her back into the present, forcing her to speak instead of waiting for the train to arrive. It was somewhat her fault, but she was mildly annoyed anyway.

“Yo, I guess you caught me staring at it. You are right. I am interested. Part of it is because of my job, the other part..well you could say it’s my hobby.” She approached him while muttering all this. “But I guess, we’ll go with the business first.” When she reached him, she motioned to the symbol in her jacket. “Name’s Shiki. I’m part of an organization called the Order of the Black Knights. We just do a few things here and there to keep this city is a somewhat less chaotic state than it usually is. Doesn’t always work, but can’t hurt to try right?” She put her hands into her pockets. Then continued.

“So, seeing a weapon’s maintenance happen during the night in a public place got me somewhat curious. You’re not into some sort of trouble are you?”

[kanesadakuji]

requippedheart:

[ ☩ ] - Well, it was nice to see how serious she was taking all of this when it came to deciding her armors. It was nice to see how they knew about how they could handle particular weights and how to deal with being restricted in some areas. To her, it seemed like they would be better off with lighter armors, just to protect enough while still being nimble enough to fight.

“ Then maybe we can go into a different direction. Instead of metal, leather is also an option to consider. While it won stop a blade in its entirety, it will still essentially block out most other things say for a giant hammer or morning star. But if you’re as fast as you say you are, then all you’d be worried about at that point is grazing blows. “

“ And since leather fits to the body more, it’s concealable so they wont know how you could survive something like that. As for your legs, maybe hold off on those if you feel that uncomfortable with the idea of slowing them down. Vitals are the most important part so be sure to find something that can hold its own. Ah, one more weakness to leather is that unlike metal, it can’t exactly be ‘shaped’ after being distorted so you might be replacing it far more often in that case. “

"Leather huh?” She had considered the possibility, yes, but not seriously. Part of her had wanted to try something made of metal, but she shortly accepted that such a thing would hinder her more than it would protect her. The armored girl was right. 

“Sure let’s go with that.”

“Your insight and knowledge are very helpful.” She was just little sour for having to abandon the section with the metallic armors. They looked particularly formidable after all and had caught her interest from the start. But she wasn’t a kid. Not completely anyway.

“I’m not actually as fast as I should be, thanks to how this place works so this is more like a temporary measure that should be fine. If everything works out for the best, and I regain my speed, perhaps I won’t need to replace my armor at all. Unless I become too accustomed to using it of course.” They arrived at the leather section and when they stopped to look at the armors Shiki added: “That being said, I won’t settle for a cheap one now that I’m actually getting paid.” 

[kanesadakuji]

requippedheart:

“ I wouldn’t call myself an expert.. “ That was a bit of a lie. For any kind of element, weapon, enemy or hazard she practically had an armor for. One could call her an expert to adapting, really. Although it was a nice compliment to hear from her, which did fill her with a bit of pride she had to admit with a bit of a smile. Snapping back into reality as the girl spoke on helping her with armor. She could at least tell a good piece from a bad piece.

“ I’d be more than happy to help you find some armor. The first thing you have to figure out is how you want to be armored. If you want it to be heavy or light, how restrictive and how heavy the material is. If you want to run a lot, that’s fine. You can still keep some armored bits and pieces on your legs. There’ll be notches that can be taken advantage of but you’ll retain most of your moving abilities. “

“ Shin guards, light grieves, and that should keep your lower torso safe. Although you have to think about the upper torso and how far you can swing if the armor itself is too heavy or if it impedes your arm movement. “

Shiki listened with great interest as the girl offered advice regarding armors. She denied being an expert, but even if that was true, she truly was one compared to Shiki herself. The information was easy to understand which made listening to this all the more worthwhile.

“Heavy or light? That’s the easy part to decide upon. Heavy would hinder my fighting style more than it would help me, therefore light seems like my best bet if I want to go that route.” Shiki said in her usual way, though in truth she was somewhat taken back from the girl’s passion regarding armors. Of course in this situation, this was most fortunate, but she could help feeling somewhat overwhelmed.

“Protecting the legs seems like the most difficult decision for me. Sure, I don’t want them injured because they’re the source of my mobility and without it I’m in a huge disadvantage, but do I want to put weight upon them and lower said mobility anyway just to protect them? Or should I just go basic and aim to protect the vitals? What would you propose?”

[kanesadakuji]

requippedheart:

“ Unless there was a store that managed to get their hands on this particular brand, I’d say so. “ … Not that she thought about it, she’d have to take extra care of her armor then if it meant being unable to replace it. She had to get new models every so often but.. oh that could be a problem down the road.

[ ☩ ] - When the girl brought up the idea of how it felt to wear one, Erza found herself curious on the matter. The reason Erza wore armor was because it was comfortable and for several personal reasons. She had gone past the point of hiding herself from the people she loved.. but she had worn so much of it that it became a part of her. At the very least, it became one with her instead of forcing others away from her.

“ Wearing armor is based on the person I suppose. Others prefer lighter variants while some prefer the heavier kind. I can adapt to all kinds so I don’t have much problem with that, but someone like you might find interest in varied sizes and shapes above all else. “

“ I.. did. As you know, this city takes quite a bit from you. I’ve only really reclaimed one other piece, really. “

“Adapt to all kinds? Could it be that you’re an expert on the subject of armors then?” Shiki inquired.

There hadn’t been many battles in which Shiki had felt particular danger. The two really dangerous ones she could think so where under circumstances that allowed her either to use her full strength or make up for what she was currently lacking with careful planning and reinforcements. So she still wasn’t sure what she was searching for exactly. 

“If so, could you spare some time to help me with the browsing? I’m quite new with the subject of armors, but you never can be too careful in this weird place. Like you, I recently managed to acquire a piece of weaponry back from the scientists a few months ago, but I do feel like I’m still lacking in the defense department.” She was unsure of what part of her body she wanted protected the most now that she wasn’t as fast or couldn’t use her eyes. 

“I was thinking that maybe leaving my legs as they are should be ok since I run a lot. But maybe that’s thinking backwards? This is why I’d like to hear your opinion if you’re okay with it.”

[kanesadakuji]

shvahrtscyiallox:

He STEPPED backward, opposing himself to jump into the queue to snatch for places. Normally he would have get the drink cans himself first ahead of the others if that girl was not sweating lots. Thinking about that, perhaps that the city’s pressure was too much for one to handle, that he was not as astounded as the first time he stayed around here.      “Ya can go ahead first, it’s not like I’m not gonna be that needy to hog up that slot when I’m still deciding what selections should I pick today.” ONCE in a while, drinking chilly soft drinks freshened up his night away from his working hours. It had became sort of a regular habit for him at time like this.  

“Thanks. Then I’ll take you up on your offer.” Shiki proceeded to insert a coin and pick a random tea brand to quench her thirst. After getting it, she moved to make place for the guy next to her and she started drinking it all down. She was indeed thirsty.

Finishing up, she threw the empty can on a recycle bin nearby and took a nice look at the night sky. 

“Man, no wonder I didn’t even see you while we were about to press a button at the same time. After that drink I realize how out of it I was.” She said, eyes still on the sky.

Directing her view to him again, she added. “Hey, do you perhaps know the area around here? I think I could go with some food to completely come back at full power.”

[kanesadakuji]

requippedheart:

[ ☩ ] - Well, the armor here wasn’t quite to her fancy but for collector’s value she considered picking them up. Warlord armor that was mostly for show and didn’t have any modern day practicality she could put up in her room and show it off. That would be neat.

[ ☩ ] - When asked about her armor from a stranger, she’d turn around with a smile at hearing her armor complimented as she tapped her chest a bit with her fist, shaking her head. “ No. This is a custom brand model of armor. Only found where I come from. “

“ The craftsmanship is impressive and it has a fine finish, I know. It’s why I prefer them over others most of the time. Why? Were you interested in acquiring a set? “

“Tsk, so finding something like that here is nearly impossible huh?” Shiki scratched her head in displeasure after hearing the information of the armor’s origins. 

“Well..yeah, I was interested in seeing how it feels to wear one and this one looked particularly comfortable. To be honest, I’ll most likely evade an attack instead of blocking it, but sometimes this proves to be difficult, especially in this city, so I was curious.” In truth she had expected to like only a few arm/leg protectors and maybe something small for covering only part of her body, as she didn’t want to lose mobility, but this particular armor had really caught her interest. 

The woman mentioned others so Shiki thought to ask about it. “Others? So you have a collection of armors for different purposes?”

[kanesadakuji]

@trashyshutin

Shiki had somehow found herself in District Beta. 

“Ugh, this place screams ‘annoying’.” She muttered under her breath. In truth she had no idea of how she ended up there and no real reason to stay either. After wasting an hour looking for an exit, she decided to give up and ask someone (preferably not one of those scientist guys) for the way out. Thankfully, such a person was coming her way. “Oi you, can I ask you a question?”

[kanesadakuji]

@requippedheart

Shiki was employed now, so naturally she finally had money to spare on more than the absolutely necessary. So currently she was visiting an armory, looking at swords and other weapons or ways to protect oneself. 

It was a lovely place, had some neat swords, though none of them piqued her curiosity for more than a minute (the shop had a huge variety, but she was mostly interested in Japanese swords) when she decided to move to the armor section.

There, another girl looking to be around her age was already browsing the armors. The interesting part was, she was already clad in one such armor. Shiki decided to greet her.

“Hello. This is some fine armor you’re wearing. Did you buy that here?”

[kanesadakuji]

@shvahrtscyiallox

It was now finally quiet. The day didn’t start like that however, as Shiki had just finished dealing with a thief. An annoying chase throughout Sector 1 (the notorious place where buildings shift places all the time, making it a perfect place for a robbery) had left her somewhat exhausted, more mentally rather than physically. She now just had to pick a can of tea from the vending machine but the moment her finger was about to touch the button, someone else did first. It seems they had reached for the button at the same time but she hadn’t noticed him. Normally she would be annoyed by that but she was too tired to argue.

“...? I’ll wait so please go on.”

[kanesadakuji]

Shiki’s blog seems to be dying. Give her some love. I’ll make some short starters. Capping at 3.

[kanesadakuji]

dia-airgid:

“There was a bit of a problem with the management so all classes have been placed on an indefinite hold. I have no idea when I can start teaching again,” he seemed really disappointed about it. Well, he did miss the bonus of being given some leeway with some magic usage within the academy grounds after all.

“Beside those, I did regain a couple of my abilities and managed to get my regeneration fully unlocked, so I guess things are not bad at all,” he took a look around for a bit. This Sector really was one of his least favorites. He gets lost easily.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be used to the shifting of this place.”

Noticing that he was clearly uncomfortable, Shiki spoke up. “Wanna move elsewhere? I only picked that as our meeting point because we both knew where it was but if it’s an annoying place for you I don’t mind switching locations.” 

“Or we could just take a stroll I suppose. Your call.” She added. “Bad luck with the school though. As for me, I recently got a job.” She pointed on the emblem on her jacket’s sleeve. “I’m now part of the Order of the Black Knights. Figured, that joining an organization has a few perks.”

[kanesadakuji]

dia-airgid:

“Are you still in the districts or did you get the chance to move in an apartment?” He asked as, for him, it was better to be in an apartment even though he would be having roommates. He never really knew his roommates so he felt like he had none anyway.

“Well, it was a newly built academy and they were looking for teachers. I applied to teach magic and they accepted,” he paused for a bit and heaved a sigh. “Although it’s been problematic the nowadays and I have a bit of a vacation. I was wondering if I should put up a magic school of my own instead.”

"Nothing has changed about that. Districts it is.” Shiki exclaimed. She could see why most people would be eager to move away from a place like District Alpha but for her, her house was just the place she returned to sleep. She wasn’t really in a hurry to move. “Well, honestly, the only bad thing is that I have to walk some time to reach the elevator in order to get to the Sectors, but other than that I have no real issues.”

“Vacation? Don’t tell me...did the school close or something?”

[kanesadakuji]

dia-airgid:

It was hard to miss her. That attire of hers was quite unique and he had associated the strange combination to her already. So it was highly unlikely to mistake her anyone, right?

“Yo,” he waved in return and ended up mimicking her greeting. “I’ve been better. How about you?”

It’s been a while since they had first encountered each other. He managed to get that rank up he was waiting for so he contacted her just as he had promised before.

At his expected question, Shiki scratched her head, trying to sort out her experiences since the two of them first parted ways. He was the very first person she met after finding herself in Hive City which meant that for her, the situation has changed a lot. She was so confused back then.

“Hmm..” She tilted her head. “Well, not everything has been bad. I’m not sure if I can proudly say ‘better’ like you did but they certainly haven’t been as bad as they could have been.”

“Seems both of us have a job now though. How did you end up working at an Academy?”

[kanesadakuji]

dia-airgid:

Upon his arrival, he found the possibility of getting lost already imminent. Ever since he started his job as a teacher, his walks and visits on the other sectors lessened.

[Text] You know… [Text] I’ll just wait for you here at the station.

“These sectors are really interesting. Weird but interesting.”

Shiki checked her cellphone again. 

“The station huh..?” After reading the new text, she shoved it back into her pocket and quickly made her way towards him. It didn’t even take moments until she reached the station and spotted the familiar messy short hair sticking out of the crowd. 

“Oh there you are.” She said upon making eye-contact. After raising her hand in greeting she added: “Yo. Been well?”

[kanesadakuji]

frostinity:

Cirno stopped in her tracks. “Well yeah! It’s easier to get around this way than running, since it’s so hot.” Now that she thought about it, flying was second-nature to her. Besides the few humans, everyone Cirno knew could fly to some extent. Wouldn’t it be normal for some people in Citta to fly as well? She was certain some people here could accomplish even stranger feats.

“Haven’t you ever seen a fairy before?”  

"I feel like I have, but also like I haven’t...it a weird feeling. I’ve surely met ghosts before but this isn’t quite the same.” Shiki responded readily without much thought. A fairy huh? This place will truly gather all sorts of people. Shiki felt that no matter how long she stayed in that city, the surprises would never stop coming. Might as well roll with it. 

"You do raise a fine point though. Flying seems like it’d get you wherever you want easier. Since you flew over here, did you perhaps spot a vending machine along the way? The heat is really getting to me and could really use a drink right now,”

[kanesadakuji]

dia-airgid:

[Text] That always confuses me. [Text] I’d offer my place or my office but the school is undergoing some things. [Text] Shame too, I had some nice brews I could finally access. [Text] Sure thing. [Text] If I get lost, I’ll just let you know. [Text] I’ll probably just head to the nearest train station in that case.

[Text] Okay so. [Text] I’m heading there myself now. [Text] See ya in a bit.