刻神楽

Ion is a ball of marshmallow fluff in a soft peanut butter cookie

Possibly one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet?

What is self preservation? She needs to Help People

How are you both super smart but also kinda dumb, scientists want to know

If you are a vacuum tube and you glow chances are you are already her favourite thing in the world

Machines. She loves machines. Her soldering iron is her best friend. 

She’s married. Twice, technically. Her husband’s in another dimension?

Secret~ Issues~ Protagonist~ Issues~ Depression~ Hooray~

Wait, what… what’s going on? He’s a little slow on the sudden outburst, completely confused about exactly what is meant to be stopped. Something about a slime? Looking around wildly, trying to locate whatever it is, he practically flails and misses the lump that has long since rolled by.

“Huh? What are we catching? Where’s the culprit?” And he still can’t find it. There really is no hope of saving the… slime thing. A little pointer would be great, just to nudge his attention in the right direction. Oh! But he sees some movement and–there he goes, chasing after it, nearly tripping over the path. He pretty much body tackles the floor just to grab it, landing flat on his front; the criminal in question tucked between his palms.

      Most of those who heard her exclamation didn’t pay her a second glance, or merely glanced around curiously before continuing on their way. While Ion would hate to admit it out loud, this is what she expected- people don’t normally stop to help others unless they had something to gain from it. Or were just a nice person. The Sham Flour itself was also hard to spot, making it hard to locate even with her looking towards it.

      But, luckily, it seemed that someone nearby really was just ‘nice’, wildly looking about for a ‘culprit’ before eventually helping her catch the slime. And falling flat on his face to achieve that...

”Oh, sorry, was I in the way?” Scanning the board, Misaki had been far too engrossed in weighing up her options to realize there had been eyes behind also in search. She stepped aside, allowing an unhindered view of the full array. Though plenty were there on offer, she’d been pondering precisely what to investigate. Having numerous jobs in a location like the present, she’d plenty experience, though wondered whether to be just so zealous or act with restraint. “Anything in particular you’re looking for? There’s no shortage, actually, we’re kind of spoilt for choice, which makes it difficult to nail down one in particular”.

       “Not at all! Excuse me-” Ion also repositioned herself, giving them both enough room to stand comfortably together in front of the signboard itself. Now that she could get a closer look, there were other ads for jobs that seemed to be more up her alley. With such a wide variety... It was no wonder most people seemed to have enough to support themselves.        It was nothing like what she knew before. In both of the worlds she inhabited, jobs had harsh requirements even on the entry level. With limited offerings, even someone who had a degree would have trouble finding a steady job. And that didn’t even mention pay....

Yesteryear and Mistwood should both have bears as far as Ogata is aware. Mistwood comes with it’s own problem but in the end it’s nearest and so that is where he leads the girl.

It wasn’t in his intentions to get one running after them. Something probably angered it, or maybe it was one of those things that took a different form… No, it doesn’t matter. The reason doesn’t matter.

“ With due respect YOU are the one that asked to see it, it’s not my fault you didn’t elaborate further. “

       So she decides to follow this guy, give him her money, and the next thing she knows she’s running for her life? From an actual bear. Wasn’t.. the goal trying to find Bear? Bear.

     “Y-you thought I meant a real bear?! Who wants this kind of bear!!” Though, now that she was putting some thought into it (as they were trying to escape the enraged brown bear), this possibly explained his hesitation and the high price he quoted in the first place.        Should she have seen this coming?

       Takuya didn’t consider himself the sort who had any kind of trouble in social situations. Usually, when a conversation started, he was always able to find some comfortable place in it–whether he was setting the pace or just riding the flow. But facing this situation, Takuya found himself with an uncharacteristic lump in his throat. Rather than simply speaking, he found his mind racing through countless things he could say without being able to find something that worked.

       Forget luck, they were going to embarrass themselves without question. The only question was how many lifetimes they’d need for it to wear off.

“So… W-Welcome, I guess.” He tried to greet her with a smile, though he probably looked more awkward than anything. “Feel free to make yourself at home while I finish fixing up some food.” 

“I was actually hoping I’d have it done before you got here, but that didn’t work out…” He scratched his chin, glancing back at the kitchen. “Anyways! I’ll be back in just a bit–”

       And there he went, leaving Ion to her own devices. There wasn’t much to look at in the living room (shockingly), but it was at least cozy. Whatever she choose to look at or do in the living room, there would be a faint smell Ion would be able to pick up. Drifting in from the kitchen, she would probably recognize the comforting scent of meat and potatoes…

      Ion wouldn't call herself a conversationalist, herself, but she still wasn't usually this bad at finding something to say. Even at the beginning of all of what happened on Ra Ciela, she had somewhat been able to talk to Tabou, Nay.. It was a little silly that she was so nervous.       But, uh. It.. That. Her first date. Her first real one, with a living human being instead of a monitor on wheels, or Earthes. When they had gone on dates in the Dream World, she had gotten over her nervousness quicker because the interaction was barred by the monitor and the limited things he could say over Interdimend. She was more equipped to traverse emotional grounds... Ion felt a little lost. Her normal setting had been switched around.

      "S-sure... It's fine, I can wait." She awkwardly smiled at him in return. It was a new thing for both of them. Keep reminding yourself of that, and perhaps the embarrassment would fade away. Words would probably flow better once dinner was ready and they were able to talk while eating. Yeah.        Her stomach grumbled in hunger as she noticed the scent of food after he was gone long enough for her immediate panic to fade. Was that... Nikujaga? Her favorite food, the stew that reminded her most of her mother. He was making it for her?

       He.. He remembered. They hadn't talked about it more than that one instance, and it was when she was in her Genometrics. But he remembered... Take deep breaths. Don't let yourself tear up at this venture, Ion!

       Quickly walking over to the couch placed near the wall, she buried her face in her hands and exhaled slowly. Ion was.. Overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by the kindness she was being shown, even if they had only met once in person before. To have someone think of her so fondly, taking the time to remember what her favorite food was.. She couldn't say that Delta, the one who originally offered that dinner so long ago, would remember. (Then again, Delta didn't remember much, anyways...) But he did. Takuya remembered. Takuya’s warmth.. His good intentions, they were the same. The same as Earthes.

        Finally getting a hold of herself, certain she wouldn't cry if she raised her head, she did just that and looked around the room. It was a rather common family-type room, obviously lived in by more than one inhabitant. She was kind of curious about who Takuya's roommates were, but no one else was home for now. It seems to have been a few minutes....       Quickly wiping her face with her hands (just in case), she got up and wandered over to the hallway. The kitchen... Ah, there it was.

       Maybe it was the situation they were in, or maybe the fact that he’d almost taken a permanent nap. He didn’t immediately catch the blush that crossed Ion’s face, as his mind was instead focusing on how they could get off the island and away from any kind of danger. But the moment he processed it, Takuya’s own face went just a little red. 

       (Man, this really wasn’t the time for this–)

“No, it’s fine, I’m fine–”

       He said, stumbling a bit as he fully got to his feet. Actually, no, he probably wasn’t fine. Ion’s Song had gotten him back on his feet, but running out of here was another matter. He was still far too banged up to be making any kind of daring getaway. 

“–Okay robotic bridal carry it is.” He muttered, looking more embarrassed that he’d tried and failed than anything. Habitually, he reached for his pocket, hand going into it… and then he stood in confusion for a few seconds. He patted it, then his other pocket, before sheepishly pausing and looking at the terminal in his other hand.

“R-Right, okay, let’s just get out of here.” If his faced was tinged pink before, it was probably bright crimson right now. “There should be one of those elevators we took to get out of here somewhere around here… Let’s just, uh… um…” 

       He tried not to look directly at Ion as he got to work on his PDA. Ion would hear a serious of mechanical footsteps as Earthes briskly jogged over to them, Takuya seeming to adjust his position for the robot as he looked for an escape route.

       Ahh, was he putting on a brave face? Please stop trying to reopen the wounds she just closed! It didn't seem like he thought he was acting recklessly, but the possibility of him having a concussion or other head-related injury was pretty high, you know!        Instinctively moving to support him as he swayed a bit standing upright, Ion breathed another small sigh of relief when he gave in. She could hear Earthes's machinery whirring, a comforting sound that lulled her into a sense of security. It was almost automatic, Pavlovian, how she relaxed when her guardian was around. It just made it weirder, considering the controller was right in front of her.

       She missed his embarrassment, as she turned to look at Earthes's arrival to where they were standing. Really, how did that small terminal (that looked really old even to her Earth's standards) move Earthes so gracefully? Like they were merely an extension of each other, Takuya and Earthes moved in sync, even though this would have been the first time they did so. How odd.

       … For some reason, he felt like he’d been delivered a really backhanded compliment. Was someone talking badly about him? No, wait, he’d have sneezed if they were doing that… Ah, whatever. He didn’t have time to dwell on that feeling.

“I see…” He frowned, but only for a moment. Not giving up easily was one of his strengths, after all. “Oh well! I guess that means we’re just looking for the same person, then.” 

       He took a closer look at the girl he’d run into. He didn’t know her name, but she looked fairly average, all things considered; like a regular girl who could have easily come from his own world. He’d seen more than a few of those walking around, but judging by the fact people seemed to be confusing her with this ‘Ion’ character… Maybe there was something special about her? 

       He just wished he could remember anything at all. It was bugging him, like an itch at a spot he couldn’t reach. Or that didn’t exist in the first place.

“I was hoping someone would tell me that, actually…” He instinctively bowed back–Ah, no, I was the one bothering you in the first place, there’s no need to apologize–before resuming. “It’s kind of complicated. Let me just show you, and maybe it’ll make a bit more sense.”

       Before he’d finished speaking, she’d see him pulling a small journal out. It looked tidy and organized, yet still had some noticeable wear and tear on it. It was clearly used recently. He offered it for her to read, explaining his situation as she did as she pleased.

“The stuff written here is in my handwriting, and kinda sounds vaguely like me, but I don’t remember any of it. The ‘me’ who wrote it honestly sounds like a totally different person.” He cupped his chin, muttering to himself out loud. “I mean, I can’t rule out amnesia, but this whole situation is so bizarre, it could be just about anything… I still haven’t ruled out Everett actually being right, either.”

       No way, no way. There was absolutely no way she was anything other than normal, by any standard. Whoever this Ion was, and what she had done to get recognized and sought after, it had nothing to do with Nei Yuuki. She was just a regular high school graduate, you know? She had plans to move to Tokyo and get a degree in an engineering school..        You could say ‘Nei, didn’t you make a robot that connected to another world for it’s OS?’ and you would be right. However, 1) She just found Interdimend on the internet, and 2) Yumekichi wouldn’t have been anything special if she hadn’t found that program. Imagine if she had used a Google Dream AI OS instead, and hadn’t built the isekai machine... She wouldn’t have been in this mess in the first place. And Bot wouldn’t have.... Nei forcibly brought her attention back to the boy in front of her.

       “.. Searching for the same person.. Ion-san, who are you..?” She mumbled to herself, listening to the boy’s tale as he pulled out a journal from his pocket. Nei took his offering, nodding to him as she opened to the first page. The mention of Everett’s many worlds theory didn’t escape her, either. Perhaps he was from a similar place as her? She would have to ask later..        “Excuse the intrusion...” Another mumble, this time directed towards the odd alternate version of this boy who wrote about Ionasal. Intending to read the first entry in it’s entirety, she started each line of carefully penned Japanese. Didn’t someone say you could tell a lot about a person from their penmanship? She got the feeling he was a rather serious character.

       Although, the events he was talking about were odd, to say the least.. Some sort of body swapping event, mentioning another person (likely a girl? A Kanon-san..) who he got swapped out with. General confusion plagued his thoughts, mentioning a world and events she knew nothing about.         She continued to read. Until... If he was watching her, he would have noticed that she stopped at a name. A name that, given the circumstances, shouldn’t have appeared in this journal. Shouldn’t have, except it did... 

        A nervous laugh escaped her, thinking back to the analogy of being in someone else’s body. If she wasn’t supposed to be this ‘Ion’ character, why did her name appear here? It was the right characters. It had no honorific after it, like they were close. It was her given name, not family. How much of a coincidence is she going to simply overlook? What kind of irony was this?

      “ Hey, isn’t that…..”

 speaking mostly to herself, Ritsuka immediately puts the game she had been playing on her phone on pause. they’ve only spoken a few times, but she recognizes her. and she had seen her speaking to Takuya a few times. maybe it was a friend of his? that alone was enough to spur her to check on the girl and see how she was doing. with the current mess of things going on in the city, it was enough to throw anyone off for awhile. 

        but when Ritsuka got closer, the expression on Ion’s face was more than that of someone unsettled by the events happening. 

   she’s been affected too. it was clear to see at this point, with how lost and unsure she appeared to be. tucking her phone into her pocket, Ritsuka closes the distance with a friendly and concerned smile.

        “ Hey, are you alright? You look ….pretty freaked out right now. Did something happen?” she knew what happened– memories of this place gone and much more. but throwing all of that on her at once would just end in disaster.

       There was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she was missing something. What that something was, and what she was supposed to remember, she couldn’t tell. Looking at the unfamiliar city, a pang of homesickness overwhelmed her. She missed her... Family?

       She had to keep going. Not looking back, not going back to that room she woke up in. She couldn’t let herself get dragged back there again- the Tenmon didn’t take kindly to their princess doing as she pleased. So putting as much distance between herself and where she woke up was her highest priority.

       When the girl called out so her, she flinched visibly, slowly turning her head to look at her. Even someone who didn’t know her could tell? That she was supposed to be there?        Ion calmed down a bit upon looking closer at her, noting she looked neither like a Tenmon nor a Chimon. This stranger wasn’t here to drag her back, she could be somewhat sure of that.

@filamentstar​

       ‘Ion’. Every time he took a turn, he thought about that name. ‘Ion’. Who was that? She sounded so important, but no matter how many times Takuya repeated the name to himself, he just couldn’t recall who she was. It felt kind of rude, in a way; she meant so much to the ‘him’ who wrote that journal, and he just didn’t remember anything about her. He couldn’t even remember her face. How messed up was that?

       Takuya didn’t count on running into her anytime soon, but…

“Ion-san?”

       It’d been just a stray word, overhead by chance. But it was enough to immediately snag his attention. He turned, seeing the two individuals talking–it seemed like there’d been some kind of misunderstanding, but the utterance of the name was enough. If that girl had been mistaken for Ion…

       … Also, putting even that aside, she seemed… lost. Confused. Like she needed some help. Whether she was Ion, knew Ion, or was someone completely unrelated, he decided he was going to help her. He just needed to ask one question first, now that she’d finished her prior conversation–

“Excuse me.” He approached her carefully, trying to not startle the girl. She looked about his age, but maybe twice as nervous. “You wouldn’t happen to know a girl named ‘Ion’, would you? There’s no problem if you don’t, but I just wanted to see if I could find her.”

      Dear readers, have you read this story before? The story where the main character, having died in their original world, got reincarnated into a famous person's body in another world. After being reincarnated, they get approached by various other figures who knew the body they're inhabiting. Thus the main character has to struggle with whether they choose to reveal they're a fake or desperately hiding this knowledge while blending in as much as they can via clues from their enemies. Of course, they get outed pretty quickly by at least one person, and then the misfortune starts from there.. Or something like that.       It's a pretty popular setup for fiction, you know? If Nei looked at it like this, she would say she sympathizes with that main character. Except, for her, she's still in her original body. It isn't a reincarnation story, but still a world-hopping saga where she continues to get mistaken for someone else. And perhaps this exhibitionist 'Ion-san' isn't all that popular, but Nei was in the wrong place to make any assumptions about her mysterious look-alike. Look, see? This boy that came up to her is looking for her, too.

      She gave the stranger a cautious look, trying to figure out if his seemingly innocent question was hiding ill intent. But, honestly? He looked like a normal Japanese schoolboy.. Almost generic, in a way. The type that would be surprisingly popular with the girls if he was the protagonist of the novel type we mentioned before. Heck, it could be that he was the protagonist of one of those light novels. Rinnosuke-san had mentioned that Isola, the world they were inhabiting at the moment, was sort of like a hub-world (not that he had described it in those exact words). Lots of people from lots of other worlds were all gathered together here.