eternity

if you’re ever in trouble, i’ll help you. that’s what brother’s are for.

i’m happy to have met you.

she made her body resistant to poison for you.

through several lifetimes fushi had alwas been met with such comforting words from those they considered a comrade. never blaming them, always just wanting the best for them without expecting anything in return. they had all been so selfless and kind, totally unlike fushi themself who only ever acted out of self interest. they had already come to the realisation centuries ago that there wasn’t much reason behind their action that went beyond not wanting people to be in pain and die and leave them behind. even at a time like this, they struggled with facing reality.

 this world was a safe world, a world where everyone could find happiness, that was what they truly believed, and fushi genuinely wished to bring everyone back, to let them live their lives and fulfill their dreams. whether said dream was opening a bakery or achieving world piece. but this not being their world, they couldn’t help but fear and worry. the fye was necessary to bring a person back from the grasps of death, but was it even possible for fye to reach this place beyond and if they were, how many of those they held dear had actually followed? the fear of attempting only to be left behind was overwhelming.

but they had to attempt. if they ever wanted to have even a chance to see everyone again, they couldn’t let the fear hinder them. “it’ll be alright...” muttered to themself, not knowing whether those words were meant as belief or to relieve themself that even if it didn’t work it wasn’t like they hadn’t spent so much time alone anyway. and not a moment later laid the empty bodies of some of their most important family members before them. unmoving.

🍕 “Woah, Fushi!” Enthusiastically the teen dashes over to the white haired boy in sight. He’s stumbling over a lost shoe on the ground on his way, but saves himself with a sommersault and comes skidding and arms flailing to a halt right before his friend. And acts all naturally. All naturally for Mikey’s standarts, anyway.

“Woah it’s been a while! It’s awesomesauce seeing you here too! How have you been? What have you been up to?“ 

@fumetsuno​

hearing their name called out fushi could do little but react and face the sound, and just in time to see a recently found friend in what could only be described in an elaborate display of accidental gymnastics. “m-mikey?!” they began with worry present in their voice, but quickly gained relief after realising the other was okay. there was no pain. then that emotion was exchanged with happiness.

Monster? Fushi?! Now that’s a very harsh term to use on oneself. ESPECIALLY given they have one important thing in common. They both rather avoid hating any living beings. How could that boy be a Monster, out of all things? But this seems to confirm that Fushi is indeed not a human, then. Mikey shakes his head before he leans over and gently reaches out for Fushi’s shoulder while holding his other hand over his own heart.

“Fushi, I’m sorry if I’ve given you the wrong ideas here with my speech, but I don’t like hating anyone myself. There’s absolutely no way I would hate you just for what you are. And I really don’t think you’re a monster out of all things! Besides, as you probably noticed already anyway, I’m not human either. I’m a mutated box turtle, but– that’s a bit of a complicated story for another time.” They didn’t really talk about ‘this whole situation’ yet, so he might as well do it now, and might as well be open about it. “Yellow is a really beautiful color, by the way. It suits you very well.”

This whole subject about hating and not hating, though? He’s getting an idea now.  “Hold on, just gimme a moment!” As he let go of Fushi’s shoulder again, he begins cutting the elastic bands with his teeth. Maybe getting a pair of scissors would have been a good idea, but it works without, too. He swiftly knots the cut pieces into two identical wristbands and holds them up as he’s done.  He usually prefers threads and would spend more time on them. Like adding names and tiny beads. But he can do a more fancy one for them later when he’s home again. These he did here will do for the moment, he hopes.

“These are friendship bracelets for you and me. A token of our friendship. There, give me your wrist, so I can put yours on!” 

mikey's words felt comfortable, almost as if it was okay to believe them, but fushi still had their reservations. it wouldn't be the first time someone had promised them unconditional acceptance only to end up taking everything from them, but even so, even despite everything that happened, he didn't truly hold kahak in spite. it was circumstances that led them to where they both were as opposing factors, and fushi had been the naïve one for letting down their guard. but whether reaching an understanding was also enough to reach forgiveness they simply didn't know. kahak's mere existence had brought along with it a lot of unknown emotions within fushi and they weren't sure they would ever have a chance to truly process them.

but mikey wasn't kahak. he wasn't even related to hayase's bloodline or the guardians in the first place, so fushi wanted nothing more than to believe. whether mikey tried to lift their spirit or not was uncertain, but for some reason when he pointed out the very obvious fact that he wasn't exactly human himself, fushi's mouth went agape as if they hadn't even noticed. rather they had, but was so used to talking to sea creatures, turtles among others, that they didn't even think twice about mikey being an oddity.

"oh," they voiced, and then again for good measure: "oh..." they felt as though this was something that should have been obvious to them in the first place, but between the blank centuries and their shapeshifting abilities it simply hadn't occurred to them. a slight blush rose to their cheeks as they felt embarrassed with their mistake, but somehow it also made them feel more relieved to actually spill the beans.

"haha, you're right about that. that's a good way to look at it, i think... i wasn't even a human or a turtle or anything in the first place though... apparently i was an orb but i don't really know anything about that. i've also been a rock and moss and fruit." and fish feces at one point, but that was a rather embarrassing moment they didn't want to talk about. "i don't remember any of that either. i only know that i gained consciousness when i became a wolf..."

it was a tale of so long ago now that it wouldn't be extraordinary if fushi didn't remember it, but other than when a knocker took their form and they lost the memories associated with that form did they truly ever forget something. maybe it was just how they were designed, or maybe it was a curse put on them by the boy whose form they now occupied. "i was with a boy -- the original owner of this form -- and then he died and i became him. i don't know what i am, but i know that no matter how long time has passed, no one else has been like me. so some humans started calling me a saint and others started calling me a monster... in the end i don't think i'm either. i'm just me, but i don't even know who 'me' is... everyone keeps expecting things from me, but i can't do everything." glance falling downwards in slight worry and distress over having to spill their heart like this, fushi was almost scared of facing mikey now that he knew what was going on.

She can tell they’re getting more and more wound up, and about ready to explode, and Deunan…isn’t sure what she’ll do.

Until they run off– and she follows after them immediately. Maybe she should have just left them alone, have some space, cry it out…but the blonde is too nosy, too guilty for making the kid so upset over something like that, and upon just meeting them too!

She can’t let it go on like this.

“Hey WAIT! Wait up! Don’t just– you can’t run from– just wait!”

had they simply been able to take a different form fushi would have done so, preferably of a bird to simply fly away or even as someone who could run faster seeing as the nameless boy whose form they currently possessed was in no ways fast or agile. but they couldn’t, so the other quickly caught up, leaving them no choice but to face their defeat and admit they had no chances of getting away. even after all this time, if they did not have their powers they really did amount to nothing.

they stopped as ordered, but even so still did not face the woman. other means of getting out of the current situation was coursing through their mind before fushi finally decided that their best option was probably to play into the expectations put upon them and shake her off as fast as possible that way.

Pimple laughs heartily. To him, the sight of so many tall buildings is perfectly normal actually. It is like the place his brothers and he decided to settle down before they set out to another adventure. The only thing that’s been new even to him were the Clockwork Rafters. To build an entire placa and parks on top of skyscrapers is quite an interesting idea indeed. He wonders how safe it is when there’s a nasty storm or an earthquake, though?

“Yes, they are all buildings. They vary a lot inside though. Some have only bureaus inside and others hold apartments, like the Spire. Before I ended up here, my brothers and I lived inside a very ramshackle apartment tower.” Something he would agree with Rash now. Their living space really left much to be desired in hindsight.

He steers towards one of the several tall buildings that hold the Rafters as it finally occurs to him that he still doesn’t know his new companions name. “Oh right. If we’re going to spend some time sight-seeing and eating together, we might as well exchange names, huh? My name is Pimple. I’m– a former Battletoad.” Or, still a Battletoad? The others aren’t here, and at this point he has no intentions in keeping up the whole fighting part. Former it is, then.

for a moment fushi was even capable of forgetting their hunger whilst presented with this world of the future. from the impossibly tall buildings giving shelter to the people of this era to the steel carriages that didn’t even need horses pulling them and yet were capable of zooming around so fast. “amazing...” was the only word they could muster in fascination.

then the big guy introduced himself and immediately fushi was faced with a concern much bigger than their rumbling stomach and the fact that they hadn’t the faintest clue what a battletoad was. “pimple is a weird name,” they bloated out thinking back on the first time they had fully started experiencing puberty and all the changes it had brought with it to their body. including the pimples. but perhaps nowadays it was a common name? they simply wouldn’t know.

So they’re in the same situation. She doesn’t know what she’s here for. Even back home she didn’t really know. Things have been a little but more confusing in this unfamiliar place though, she has to admit. 

“Are you here to find that answer?” She crouches down, an arm wrapped around her knees, she rest a cheek on top and examines the flowers. “I wish I were a flower.” She mumbles under her breath. 

observing the smaller figure, fushi couldn’t help but feel confusion at the words. after all, whenever they had attempted to take upon the form of something that wasn’t sentient they would lose all functionality to move and think until the one clad in black would force them back in a form capable of thought.

@fumetsuno liked for an angsty one-liner! | Ashitaka & Fushi |

“Do you ever feel lonely, even when there are people around?”

Mikey just goes silent there for a moment while processing this. Looks like this is really a case for Doctor Feelings before he can even think about playing any games with that fellow. He pulls out a pair of glasses from within his shell to put on because glasses make everyone look smart and give off that Doctor vibe, right? He clears his throat and shoves all the purchased things aside for now before speaking up again.

“Without even knowing that guy, I’m pretty sure ‘booze man’ itself was already a nickname. And ‘shitty booze geezer’ is actually an insult. There’s a difference between a nickname and an insult. Calling someone ‘shitty’ is NOT a good nickname. It’s insulting and you don’t call someone that out of a whim. A nickname can serve to make someone’s otherwisely complicated name easier to memorize and call by, or it can be a thing between good friends and family.” Should he mention that it’s also used online a lot? That– might complicate things just further, so he decides against it. “Or you create a nickname if you just don’t know their real name in first place, but in that case you can always politely ask for it. An insult is something you reserve for people you don’t like, and even then I suggest you use them with caution to avoid unnecessary troubles. After all, using insults is not a healthy way of communication. And to not insult someone by accident, avoid using nicknames that are related to someone’s bad habits or their body shape. Or, you know, their appearance in general. I really don’t like being called small or short, for example. It’s– always better to ask first if using a nickname is appropriate or not, anyway.”

He now shoves the things he bought back between him and Fushi and scatters them. Onto the next subject which is less related to feelings but education in general. He’s really getting the hang of doing this, actually. 

“When I asked you to pick a color, I did because I’m going to paint the baskets to actually distinguish them from each other. Your goal will be to throw the ball I purchased into my basket. The orange one. Your basket needs a different color for that reason. See these big elastic bands here? That one is red, this one is blue and the third is purple.” It’s not a coincidence he picked his brother’s colors, he did it for sentimentality. But now it comes more into handy than he thought. “My skin color is green. The markings on my shoulders and tights are yellow. That still doesn’t cover all the colors there are, but it’s a few for you to choose from at least.”

it really seemed that fushi had managed to touch upon a subject that did something to mikey here. why they couldn’t truly begin to understand, but they could only really take a mental knowledge of all this information to not mess up again in the future. sure they had lived for centuries, but sometimes it became painfully aware to them how little they actually knew. all the information they had exposed themself to over the years had been obtained mainly because it seemed useful sometimes further down the line, but when it really came down to human values, fushi doubted that they could ever truly learn to understand let alone feel them.

“people i don’t like...” fushi muttered, face for a moment going solemn. back at jananda when they had yet again happened upon hayase and learned the truth of parona’s death, they could have sworn that they would always carry nothing but hatred and contempt for that woman. even now so, that was probably thecase. but was it right? their understanding of the world had been limited and simple back then, but with the passing of centuries and the constant visits from her descendants, the border between hatred for the person and pity for the curse she left behind became washed out. “i don’t... if it can be helped i don’t want to hate any living beings.”

after all, whether it was the humans walking the earth or the fish in the seas every living creature was just going through their life facing their own circumstances. every being was finite and would eventually come to meet their end. “i don’t have the right to judge anyone enough to hate them. after all...” was it okay to share this? tonari had told them that they should look for friends who understood them and could be by their side. gaze falling upon the ground, they were pondering a great deal upon things while mikey seemed to explain things even further with his game.

The sound Rash does right now is everything but human. You could file it under ‘frustrated toad noises’, perhaps. “Man, did someone deep-fry your brain?” Is this how Zitz feels every time he tries to explain something to him and Pimple? And will Pimple punch him through the brain if he screws this up? “Yes, I call Pimple Pimpman. Or Pimpledoo. An’ Rash is my name.”  Just why does that weirdo have to be an acquaintance to PIMPLE? “There’s only me, Zitz an’ Pimple. Snow-White would be you. Because your hair is white. How old are you, anyway? An’ I know I will regret asking this, but do you know what I mean when I say gay? Love triangle? Strange as fuck? Nu-uh?“

“Wow. Are you confused? Because I know I am now.” Does he know Pimple now or not? And why doesn’t he know any cool ones?! “Let’s do a fast backwards and start over. I’m Rash and I’m the cool toad. That means you know a cool one now. An’ Pimple is my big bro. Maybe. Like I said, we just– wait, are you implying we would turn gay if we’d actually talk about it? That would be awkward. Don’t give me weird thoughts like that, snow-white.”

“Dude, you know Pimpman? Wait, how come you know him but not me? The cool one? You know? Rash?” That’s scandalous, after all he’s the people’s magnet out of the toads! “Yeah we’re something like brothers. Or maybe we are brothers. I dunno, we never talk about it.”

They seem curious to know if she was a fan of flowers or not. Should she be honest or just distant? She hasn’t decided yet, and so, the girl is silent as she continues watering the plants.  It isn’t until she finished watering each and every one that she puts aside the watering canteen and then her attention is back at the stranger. 

“They’re called Lilly of the Vallies….I think.” She decides she’ll only answer ONE  of their question and this is the one. 

“Are you here for the flowers, too?”

“is that so? they’re beautiful,” they muttered to themself, trying to figure out of they knew the flower or not but coming to a blank. perhaps it was listed in one of the many books they had acquired during the centuries, but in the end most of the ones they had actually read were practical ones on how to build things and cook. there was never time for leisurely reading with no real purpose just for the fun of it.

—– ✰ SHINO { @fumetsuno​ } 

despite all his shortcomings of discovering he’s in a new place, and he has no idea where to go - gregory somehow manages to find a park. it’s a pretty park, he’ll give it that! but he still doesn’t know what exactly this place is, how he got here, or why he’s even here to begin with. 

to say that gregory didn’t feel lost, and maybe even a little afraid, would be a bit of an understatement. 

gregory sits beneath a tree, wanting to take some time to himself to rest. it’s not too hot, but not very cold, either. it felt comfortable. slowly, gregory brings his knees up to his chest and hugs them, staring at the grass he sits on in silence. 

for a moment, he looks towards the watch around his wrist, tapping idly at the screen to turn it on. he considers trying to call out for freddy, maybe he was there? maybe he could help him, find him? he isn’t sure. 

supposedly this world worked in a mysterious way where the longer you spent time in it, the greater your connection to the world was. while fushi should be absolutely puzzled about the existence of such a place, the concept in itself wasn’t really that hard to grasp. it was kind of like the centuries they had spent spreading their web of roots under the surface of the planet -- the more time they spent, the further their reach and the greater their adaptability.

while it had proven to be rather a simple lifestyle to live mimickig humanity, eventually it had to come to an end, and almost as if on cue the pags of emotion started to come back in time. certainly the stimuli were far weaker than they had been when fushi had essentially felt the presence of every single thing that occured on the entire planet -- not even comparable -- after absolute silence the return of other people’s pain had caused them more misfortune than they had hoped for.

the one they could feel pulling them forwards right now was not exactly a physical one, but rather a pain in the soul. something fushi knew far better themself as their own physical pain was usually but for a moment. the unease and longing directed the path to a person who had obviously not yet reached adulthood. fushi knew they could probably not hope to begin to fill that hole in his heart, but pain was something they disliked no matter how it showed itself.

He idly plays around with the  elastic bands while silently listening to the strange human, who starts to sound more and more like these Aliens in Jupiter Jim. In the end, he decides it is maybe better to start simple with their game and puts the bands and spring coils aside with a little frown. “So, your mom called you Fushi, right? That means you do have a given name. My father gave me the name Michelangelo, but everyoe calls me Mikey or Mike becaus it is easier. My brothers and I, we give each other nicknames all the time anyway. You can go by your given name or just pick a name or alias yourself. A name is a name, but what matters is that you feel comfortable being called that.”  He shrugs lightly. Mike, Mikey, Angelo, One Love, Orange… he likes all these aliases. He just doesn’t like being called Little Man. It’s belittling to him. But other than that, he is really chill with how others decide to call him. Which is why he doesn’t think a name is something that’s set to stone. If someone prefers a different name over the one actually given to them, he’s going with that, respectfully.

“Which brings us also to colors. A color you prefer is still a color, but it appeals to you more than others do. Like, uh– I prefer orange. When I have to pick a color for something, I always go for orange. If you now have to pick one color for something, which one do you choose? Which color is the one coming to your mind first?”

offering a nod they agreed -- so far so good, this was a point where they could still follow along. “yes, march was the first to give me a name--” for a moment they thought about the nameless boy they had met in the middle of the tundra, the boy whose shape they were now mostly tied to as their own. “ah... no. he called me joaan when he saw my face, but... i don’t tink that’s actually my name.” it most likely belonged to the wolf which they had taken upon the form of back then.

“i know what a nicknme is though!” they offered helpfully, getting a bit excited to actually be familiar with a concept the turtle described. “gugu wanted to call the booze man “shitty booze geezer” once! that’s a nickname!” but the booze man did not pick that name for himself so was it really? hopefully mikey would correct them if they were wrong. for now however, fushi nodded their head. “i like fushi. beside i don’t know what else i should be called... what do you think?!”